


Free!Dom

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Open Novella [4]
Category: Free!
Genre: Anxiety, Autism, Autistic Nanase Haruka, Awkward Romance, Contest Entry, F/M, Gen, High School, Kidnapping, Mental Breakdown, Minor Tachibana Makoto/Original Female Character, Missing Beauty, Mystery, Nanase Haruka Has a Twin Sister, Open Novella Contest, Open Novella Contest 2019, Pop Idol, Slow Burn, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 23,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25237537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: Everyone knows Haru pays attention to nobody as his mind is focused on swimming any chance he body expects the reaction Haru has when Gou stops flipping channels on a news report of a young pop idol with local connections going missing. Gossip abounds regarding the local beauty queen's secrets, yet none expect said secrets to involve Haru.
Relationships: Matsuoka Gou & Matsuoka Rin, Matsuoka Gou/Nanase Haruka, Nanase Haruka & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Open Novella [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828204
Kudos: 6
Collections: (General) Open Novella 2019, A Whisper to the  Dark Side, Focus on Female Characters, Platonic Relationships, Siblings





	1. Disapearance

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer – I don't own Free! This was written for Open Novella 2019 which started in January and made it through the first two rounds. The prompt I chose was General 5: Missing Beauty. "When a teenager beauty queen goes missing, a small town is torn apart with worry and grief. But as time and the investigation progresses, several ugly truths are revealed…" This is my take on the prompt, but the story didn't end up quite the way I wanted.

The sound of a clock ticking permeated the otherwise quiet room. Gou lay on the couch looking up at her favorite magazine. Red locks of hair escaped from her ponytail as she perused her pages. Every time she turned a page and ogled another guy with amazing muscles, she found herself holding back a squeal of delight.

"You might want to put that away before the guys get here."

The youngest member of the Matsuoka family bolted straight up. Her feet thumped onto the ground rather loudly while the magazine fell to the floor in front of the couch. Gou turned slightly and looked over her shoulder. "Rin!"

Her older brother stood behind the couch glaring at her rather unladylike behavior. A towel wrapped around his shoulders while water dripped down from his red colored hair. "Can't you be more ladylike?" After a brief period of exchanging gears with his sister, Rin decided to say something. "This is rather embarrassing to say, but maybe you should act more like Haru."

"What?"

"You heard me!" Rin snapped.

Gou let out a sound of irritation and scooped her magazine off the floor. Her fingers pressed between the pages and took a deep breath. "Where did I leave off?" One of Gou's eyebrows twitched upon seeing the page opened in front of her. "Not her."

"Who?" Rin leaned over and looked at the page in question. Where one might expect one of the muscle-bound guys Gou enjoyed ogling at one instead saw an advertisement with a specific model. Her vivid blue eyes looked out making eye contact while locks of black hair cascaded elegantly down her shoulders. Whatever was being advertised, the model exuded the aura of feminine elegance Gou likely never would. "Oh, her."

The younger Matsuoka family member looked up as her eye twitched. "Rin! You dummy! Telling me to act more like this model! You…" A sudden glint of amusement appeared on her face. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to have a crush on her?"

"Her? Where the hell did you get that idea from?"

"You said it was rather embarrassing to mention, so it must be because…"

"Moron. She's not the only Haru we know." Rin let out a sigh. "Could we possibly not repeat this conversation when the guys get here?"

"Because you don't want them to know you have a crush on a local celebrity?" Gou continued looking at her brother mischievously for only a few minutes. She soon found herself contemplating something else. "All of the girls talk about her, but every single one wants to be like her. She's probably a bitch."

"She is."

Gou felt her lips twist into a frown of confusion, but the doorbell rang before she could ask her brother what he meant. She instead turned and watched her brother head to the front door and greet their guests. Makoto stood at the door smiling like he usually did as locks of blond hair fell into his face. "I made sure to bring Haru."

The "Haru" in question stood in the doorway with Makoto pushing lightly on the middle of his back. Haru's bright eyes were glazed over indicating his mind was on anything water related instead of the get-together Gou planned for the swim club. After a few seconds, he walked in and headed straight towards the kitchen. Rin stood at the door frowning. "Hey. I didn't give you a proper greeting yet."

The youngest member of the Matsuoka family turned slightly and looked at Haru, remembering what her brother said. Rin's eyes widened when she started speaking, but he headed over towards Gou with a rather evident glare. "Oh. So that's what you meant by embarrassing. Yeah, I can see _why_ … _"_

Rin's hand clamped down over his sister's mouth. "Don't. Don't say another word Gou. And put that magazine away. You're going to make the guys uncomfortable."

Gou's magenta colored eyes glanced down at her magazine before quickly tucking her reading material behind a pillow. One of Makoto's eyebrow's shot up. "What would make us uncomfortable."

"Nothing." Rin stood up straight. "I was kind of hoping it was the pizza guy showing up instead of you guys so I could scarf…"

"Pizza?" Haru's head darted up, but a twinkle appeared in his eyes.

"So now you notice I'm here Haru?" Rin smiled at his childhood rival and friend in amusement.

"Hi, Rin."

Makoto's mouth twisted in amusement much in the same manner as Rin's did. "It's a bit late for greetings Haru."

Gou sighed. "Haruka senpai is Haruka senpai. His mind is almost always on _water_."

"Or the design he submitted for the town mascot contest." Makoto chuckled and shook his head as Haru's attention drifted yet again. The doorbell rang and Haru was told he needed to wait until Nagisa, Rei and Amakata sensei arrived. This resulted in Haru staring non-stop at the pizza until he finally received his piece and he proceeded to go off into his own corner and not socializing with anyone else.

The younger of the Matsuoka family members slid on the couch so she sat on the side she'd hidden her magazine. She bit into her pizza while watching the swim club supervisor head over towards Haru, but the avid swimmer didn't notice the approach of his teacher until Amakata sensei started speaking. "Nanase-san? Would it be possible for you to join the rest of the swim club? As manager of the club, Matsuoka-san doesn't typically let you boys have leisure time with which you may socialize with each other."

Gou took a deep breath and picked up the television controller and turned the television on. "The idea was for the guys to take a much-needed break before getting back into vigorous training. A pizza and movie night seemed enjoyable, but Rin decided he wanted to join in despite going to a different high school."

She pressed the button which changed the channel and started flipping the channels towards the one featuring the movie she picked out yet let out a sigh of dissatisfaction. She heard Amakata sensei continuing her attempt at getting Haru to join in with everyone else. "Come on Nanase-san be more sociable with the rest of your peer group and make your sensei happy. Don't give me that look."

In the back of her mind, Gou figured Haru turned his head away due to his dislike of his homeroom teacher's original career plan of being a swimsuit designer, but her finger stopped pushing the button upon seeing a familiar face on the news screen. She felt her mouth twist downward at the corners upon seeing _the_ girl the rest of her classmates idolized. A sigh escaped while the room fell silent.

"I know that girl." Gou's head turned towards the teacher who mentored the swim club. "I ran into her a few times when I used to model. You know, when I still had plans on becoming a swimsuit designer."

"Sensei, should you really…" Rei pushed up his glasses.

"The police can't tell us anything more regarding her disappearance."

Gou glanced back at the news broadcast yet found herself feeling slightly guilty for hating on the girl, yet in the back of her head, she remembered Rin agreeing with her assessment regarding the young model. She thought about prying into what her older brother thought when she heard the clatter of a cup containing liquids hitting the floor. She bolted upright knocking her pillow onto the floor.

Haru stood in the middle of the kitchen staring at the television. "No." She watched Haru begin looking around anxiously as if looking for something. "No. No."

The majority of those in the room looked at Haru in confusion, but Gou noticed the look of horror on both her brother and Makoto's faces. Nagisa glanced over the back of the couch where sat down to eat pizza. "Hey. What's wrong?"

"No. I… no." Haru didn't look anyone in the eye, but his mouth pressed together while he struggled with articulating himself in a normal fashion.

Makoto let out a deep sigh and let his hand run through his brown hair. "Sorry guys. I think I should get Haru home."

"Yeah, but what's going on?" Rei couldn't hide his worry as he looked at the front door.

"Just. I really can't go into it. Sorry." Makoto looked over at Rin, almost begging for help.

"I'll go with them."

Gou took in the rather serious look on her brother's face as Makoto started ushering Haru towards the door, yet attempted speaking in a rather calm manner. Rin followed close behind and the front door closed behind them.

"So…." Nagisa twisted around so he faced the television again. "What do we do now?" He saw the magazine which now peeked out from the pillow Gou knocked off the couch and lunged for the item. "Oh. Is this yours Gou-san?"

Gou's eyes widened. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rei walked over and looked at the magazine. "Why wouldn't it be? All of us know of your obsession with muscles. Still. I wonder why Haru reacted to the news report like he did."

She let out a sigh before sliding down where she sat.


	2. Fragile Butterfly

Understanding Haru was something very few could claim, yet Makoto Tachibana, in fact, did know his childhood friend quite well. His friend's eccentric behaviors never bothered him, yet there were still times Makoto worried about Haru. In the back of his mind, he couldn't think of a time he and Haru weren't together, particularly after Haru's grandmother died. Taking care of Haru simply became a natural extension of his everyday life.

The fact someone needed to take care of Haru was a fact of life. Haru's love of the water meant Makoto's childhood friend almost always wore swim trunks under his clothes instead of underwear just in case he found a place where the water invited him in. This eccentric behavior of Haru's involve places people normally wouldn't swim such as fish tanks and water fountains. Makoto found amusement in Haru's love of the water, yet knew only to well Haru might get in trouble if he did something considered socially unacceptable in public.

Taking care of Haru also meant keeping Haru on schedule. Makoto stopped by every morning before school and made sure his childhood friend arrived on time. Sometimes he found Haru lounging in his bathtub enjoying the water. Other times he found Haru standing in front of the kitchen stove wearing only his swim trunks and an apron cooking himself mackerel for breakfast. Sometimes Haru wasn't at his family home and instead started towards school but found himself distracted by some body of water beckoning him.

Today he made sure Haru arrived at Rin and Guo's place early knowing full well any distraction might make the trip take even more time. He watched in amusement as Haru ignored their literary teacher attempting to goad Haru into socializing with everyone else, yet nobody in the room minded Haru participating as Haru always did. The amusement he felt disappeared when he saw the news broadcast which indicated the disappearance of the pop idol Haru-chan, but he wasn't surprised when Haru reacted in the manner he did.

Having taken care of Haru since childhood, Makoto knew the best thing for his childhood friend was making sure got home safely, yet he also knew he would need Rin's help. A quick glance at Rin let him know his second childhood friend was thinking the same thing. He gently tugged on Haru's sleeve and maneuvered his childhood friend towards the door. Makoto wasn't surprised when Haru started in the wrong direction upon leaving the house and gently tugged his sleeve as a mental guide for Haru regarding the actual direction.

Haru turned towards Makoto and Makoto saw the panic in Haru's vivid blue eyes. "It's going to be okay. Haruna will be okay Haru."

"You don't know that."

Makoto found himself taking a deep breath while Haru's eyes darted in the direction Rin spoke from. "Could you possibly help instead of hindering here?"

"Is it really okay to get Haru's hopes up?"

Haru turned around and started walking in the wrong direction again. Makoto quickened his step and got in front of Haru. He gently placed his hands on his childhood friend's shoulders. "Not that way." Makoto gently turned Haru around and gently pushed him in the direction of Haru's home. He now faced Rin and gave his other childhood friend an exasperated look. "You know how Haru is Rin."

Rin rubbed the back of his head and closed his eyes. "Okay. Maybe I could have worded that better. I don't want to lie to him though, particularly when we don't know what's going on."

The latest words made Haru stop and Makoto let out a sigh. "Haru..."

Rin stepped over. "Haru, look at me." Haru instead looked away, but his eyes narrowed slightly. Rin and Makoto watched as Haru started walking in the direction he now looked. A flash of light alerted the two of the oncoming car and both reached out reflexively grabbed Haru's arms and yanked him back. Makoto was sure Rin held on as tightly as he did, yet he didn't appreciate the way their other childhood friend raised his voice. "Haru! What were you thinking!"

"The only thing Haru's thinking about is the fact Haruna's missing."

A pair of magenta eyes widened slightly and then closed. Rin spoke in a reflexive manner which indicated he was angry, but this time the anger was directed at himself. "I'm sorry Haru. I should know better. Don't scare us like that though. You almost got hit by a car." The two continued holding onto Haru's arms to prevent him from taking off. "Look, the best thing you can do for Haruna right now is to go home."

Makoto watched Haru look away. The expression on Haru's face indicated his current situation was outside his normal routine, but a change of any kind was never something Haru dealt well with. Somehow Makoto and Rin managed to get Haru turned around, but also got their childhood friend home without any other incident. They both watched Haru kick off his shoes upon entering the domicile, but scurry off towards his room. Makoto slipped his shoes off and headed towards the room.

Makoto wasn't surprised when he found Haru sitting in the corner of his room on the bed with the sheet pulled over his head. He did feel a pang of uneasiness at seeing Haru wrap his arms around his knees and hide his face. "Seriously..."

Rin's voice made Makoto flinch, but he quickly pushed Rin aside. He put his face right into Rin's. "Don't. Don't agitate Haru any more than he already is."

The pained look on Rin's face made Makoto back off slightly. Rin turned his head and spoke in a whisper. "I know. It's hard though seeing Haru like this with the way she treated him when we were growing up. I'm Nagisa's never met her. If he ever knew..."

"Yeah, well, it never bothered Haru."

"She dressed him up like a girl!"

Makoto clapped a hand over Rin's mouth. "Shush! What happened to not agitate Haru. He didn't care."

"Haru never understood the social implications. Not like Nagisa did." Rin looked away but folded his arms across his chest. "Nagisa never understood why Haru... if he did..."

The memory of the cruelty of Nagisa's older sisters made Makoto look away. "I don't think he'd stop admiring Haru for that."

"Why not? He thought Haru did what he did that day because Haru was being nice to him. He didn't realize Haru has no issues dressing in girls clothing let alone a girl's swimsuit."

"Haru is..." Makoto frowned but backed away so his back now leaned up against the all wall. "I think our opinions on that vary slightly."

"Still..."

"Could we not talk about Haruna's fetish of making Haru dress up like her twin sister? That's really not the same as Nagisa's sisters dressing him up like a girl. You know it isn't, but you know full well the reason Haru enjoyed it had nothing to do with liking to dress in girls clothing. If that were one of his eccentric behaviors, you know full well we'd have to deal with him attempting to dress in female clothing every day just like we have to deal with his other behaviors."

"Sorry. I'd better get home." Rin still couldn't make eye contact with Makoto.

"Could you possibly not say anything to the others?"

"I know. The situation between Haru and her is a private matter, but some secrets are best not talked about."


	3. Best Not Talked

"... _some secrets are best not talked about._ "

Rin's words worried Makoto. Nobody ever discussed _that_ secret in the past as a certain young pop idol never entered any of the conversations. Nagisa never learned _that_ secret, but Rin moved to Australia during middle school. Haru was known not for a love of conversation but a love of water, yet the lack of conversation from Haru didn't prevent Makoto from knowing what his friend was thinking.

 _That_ secret...

 _That_ secret was never in their faces screaming for attention, but the news broadcast changed things. Effectively the one person who Makoto _could_ speak to regarding _that_ secret shut him down, yet the vision of Haru hiding under the covers haunted him. In the back of his mind, he knew the rest of the swim club would have questions for him regarding Haru's reaction, yet _that_ secret wasn't talked about.

It was Haru's secret after all and thus not his place to tell.

A quick glance at his phone revealed texts asking how Haru was doing from everyone, yet Makoto didn't have the heart to answer any of them. A voice mail from Gou revealed Rin returned home and acted in a rather standoffish manner regarding the whole matter. Makoto returned home in a mood far from his normal positive self, yet the atmosphere in the household wasn't much better.

"Makoto, what's the matter with Haru?"

"What?" Makoto's head darted up while locks of brown hair fell into his eyes. His mother looked over at him from where she busied herself in the kitchen. His brother watched him carefully, almost as if they knew he was upset.

"One of your classmates from the swim club called asking if you got him home okay, but what was going on."

Makoto closed his eyes. "Rin and I got Haru home okay." His parents knew _that_ secret, which meant... "You've not seen the news?"

"You know I don't like having the television on when the twins still homework have to do."

"Could I possibly talk to you about it when dad gets home? I'm going to try and work on my homework." He walked towards his room without waiting for an answer yet found himself unable to concentrate. Eventually, his parents came into his room.

"We know." Makoto's father sat down on the bed.

"Your father overheard the news before getting home and asked me how Haru was doing. He told me what he heard."

"He's hiding in his room." Makoto found himself taking a homemade meal his mother made in hopes Haru might eat something. Upon entering the domicile, he found Haru under the blankets in his room hiding from the world. Haru didn't respond when Makoto announced his presence or the meal he brought over. "I'm putting this in the fridge so you can eat it later, okay Haru?"

Makoto wasn't surprised when he found the meal untouched in the fridge when he arrived the next morning with plans of taking Haru to school. He wasn't surprised when he found Haru still under the covers, nor was Makoto surprised Haru wouldn't budge from his spot. Walking to school without Haru was lonely, yet Makoto found himself not looking forward to the school day.

He headed straight towards his classroom, yet felt all too alone without Haru to bug. In the back of his head, he knew Haru wouldn't be much fun to bug today given the circumstances, yet the mental state Makoto knew Haru was in continued eating away at his thoughts. He took a deep breath and set his book bag down. He sat down rather ungracefully and found himself staring at the classroom ceiling.

"Did you hear?"

The sound of a female classmate at first didn't draw Makoto's attention.

"The pop idol Haru-chan's gone missing."

Makoto's head tilted up and his eyes looked right at the girl who was speaking.

He saw two girls standing near desks not far from his own, but the second spoke up in response to the first. "I know. Who would do such a thing?"

"I don't know. Some of the people online are saying some cruel things, like claiming she's a slut and deserved whatever she got."

Makoto pressed his bottom lip against his upper teeth. Knowing how Haru would react upon hearing that particular comment didn't sit well with Makoto let alone help with his current mood. The comment also reminded Makoto of how negative Rin was the night before regarding the missing idol and mentally he wondered what the best course of action would be. Whatever action Makoto took, he knew he needed to keep Haru in mind.

"We don't even know what's going on though. Maybe she disappeared for quiet time for writing new songs." The second girl leaned in closer to her friend while her eyes widened slightly at the mystery behind the gossip.

"And how can she be a slut when her songs definitely scream her being in a relationship with one person."

"What?" Makoto frowned. Haru and he didn't speak of _her_ and never delved into anything related to her as they simply didn't need to.

The two girls glanced up. The first girl waved her hand slightly, almost as if dismissing Makoto's question, but not quite. "Haven't you heard any of her songs."

"No." Life, after all, was full of making sure Haru stayed out of trouble and bodies of water he shouldn't climb into, yet also water in general.

"That's a surprise. I thought every guy out there was into her." The second girl turned her attention towards her friend. "Isn't that just a rumor though?"

"No. Those songs are definitely meant for someone." The first started leaning over towards Makoto almost as if she was sharing some kind of juicy secret. "Almost every one of the songs is related to water in some manner."

"Oh..." Makoto knew water meant Haru yet he knew Haru-chan had no romantic feelings towards Haru but found the very idea quite bizarre. "Don't you think you may be thinking too much into things?"

"No. I'm sure of it."

"Makoto-chan!" Nagisa's voice drew Makoto's attention towards the door. The three freshmen from the swim club stood just outside of the doorway looking in.

"Senpai." Rei pushed his glasses up slightly from where he stood.

Gou walked over. Her facial features twisted with her usual determination. "He's not at school today?"

The second of the two girls gossiping about the missing model glanced over at Haru's desk. "Nanase-san's not here today?"

"He's not feeling well today." Makoto tried smiling despite his worries regarding Haru's current mental state.

He heard Gou take a deep breath indicating frustration at not getting the answers she wanted. "About that?"

Makoto glanced at the two girls who he overheard gossiping about the missing pop idol. He decided the best course of actual involved taking the conversation elsewhere. He stood up and headed towards the door. He watched Gou balk at the action yet soon followed after.

"Senpai?" Rei started the conversation back up when they were in a private place.

Makoto turned around hoping the three didn't take the look on his face the wrong way. "Look. I know you three are worried about Haru as am I. I can't go into details regarding what is going on. Sorry."

"Okay," Rei said, yet Makoto felt he did nothing towards abating the curiosity and worry of the three. The answer did, though, allow him the chance of heading back to class without any of the three following him. Eventually class started and their homeroom teacher stepped into the room and started taking attendance. "Tachibana-san, is Nanase okay?"

"He's simply not feeling well." Makoto's eyes drifted towards the window of the classroom. Lessons soon started and any discussion of the missing idol ceased lest the students get in trouble with the teachers. He expected some discussion again at lunchtime, yet Makoto found himself called to the staffroom by their homeroom teacher.

"Do you want me to deliver Haru his homework Sensei?"

Instead of answering his question Amakata sensei asked one of her own. "Is the reason Nanase-san isn't feeling well because of the news broadcast we saw the other night? The other teachers have mentioned she's a local, but she's the same age as you and Nanase."

"Yes. Haru's not handling it well. I can take his school work to him, but I doubt he'll feel up to doing any of it."

"Actually, if you're visiting Nanase-san I would like to go with you. His reaction this weekend honestly worried me."

Makoto pressed his lips together hoping Amakata sensei wouldn't pry.


	4. Cacoon

The water felt like a safe cocoon. The touch of water wrapped around the body touching the skin lightly. In comparison, tight clothing restricted movement clung onto the body and strangled the senses. Water remained a constant and predictable element whereas life proved unpredictable and inconsistent. Water was easy to read and get into the flow of, but people were practically unreadable and social situations were difficult to get into the flow of.

Haru's grandmother was like water. She knew when and what kind of touches were okay yet remained until her death a constant and predictable element within Haru's life. The high school swimmer didn't know when Makoto took over her role beyond the knowledge of the event occurring after his grandmother's death, yet Makoto also probed a predictable and constant element in his life. Despite this, Makoto couldn't replace the warm cocooning hugs Haru received from his grandmother.

Makoto made sure Haru showed up for all necessary social activities. The reasons for spending time at Rin and Gou's remained in Haru's head simply a matter of proper formality he never expected he would understand, yet Amakata sensei seemed intent on pushing another social custom Haru didn't understand. e d He did understand the implications of what he saw on the television and suddenly nothing felt like a safe cocoon.

In the back of his mind, he didn't know how he got home but surmised Makoto had something to do with him getting home safely. Haru simply knew a blanket safely cocooned him while he sat on his bed staring at nothing. The safety of his cocoon didn't prevent him from worrying about the news broadcast and mentally imagining horrible things happening to Haruna, but his worry didn't prevent Haru from drifting off.

Looking around the vast city made Haru feel anxious. None of the sites matched the small village he lived in with his grandmother, but instead, the buildings towered around him almost as if he were looking in at Tokyo or one of Japan's other large cities. His eyes darted around as he continued walking, yet mentally he found himself not liking the lack of familiarity.

Something kept nagging in the back of his mind, but he found himself feeling as if he were being followed. Glancing back simply revealed a cloudy blank sport he couldn't mentally make out. Haru felt both alone and not at the same time, yet couldn't place the reason for feeling as if he weren't alone as nobody passed by on the streets.

His throat started closing almost as if someone covered his mouth and panic set in. Haru attempted fighting the nightmare which held him in their clutches and somehow found himself awakening. His ears picked up on the message machine going off.

"Haru? Haru-chan. This is your mother. I don't know if you saw the news, but it is important to call us as soon as possible. Please do, sweat heart."

Instead of calling her back he wrapped the blanket tighter and rocked himself back and forth. He heard Makoto come in with food, yet Haru didn't feel like eating. He didn't even feel like drawing up a bath so he might plunge into the water. His mind spun and the nightmare kept repeating as did the phone calls from his parents begging him to pick up and answer the phone.

'Haru? Haru-chan?" No beep came before. "It's me. Makoto."

Haru's ears picked out the creaking of the bed as Makoto sat down on the edge. His friend didn't say anything and instead waited patiently in hopes Haru might look up.

"How long has he been like this?" The sound of their homeroom teacher speaking made Haru's head jerk up slightly, and yet he didn't stop sitting on his bed with his arms wrapped around his legs and his head covered with the blanket.

"Since Rin and I brought him home. I doubt he's eaten anything sensei."

Haru heard a slight humming sound and footsteps in the hallway, yet Haru still remained under the blanket. The room remained silent as Makoto sat on the foot of the bed, but Haru felt the bed shift as Makoto leaned back. Haru imagined the reason was so Makoto could look at the ceiling and contemplate the current situation along with various solutions. Haru buried his face into his arms, but in the back of his mind, he knew he couldn't contemplate a solution to _her_ disappearance.

Haru's nose wiggled slightly when one breath of air caught the scent of something interesting, yet he remained under the covers. Makoto let out a deep sigh. "Sounds like sensei is attempting to lure you out with food Haru."

Haru didn't verbally respond, but his stomach did. The few days of not eating along with delicious smells coming from the kitchen made his stomach grumble.

"You're hungry, aren't you? That's really not surprising considering how long it's likely been since you ate anything. I rather miss stopping by in the mourning and finding you cooking mackerel."

"Makeral..."

"I doubt Amakata sensei is making mackerel. I'm not sure she knows just how much you like mackerel."

"Tokyo..." Haru's head moved up slightly as a lightbulb went off in his head. His arms loosened from around his legs allowing him to stretch them out. Haru's entire body felt stiff, yet he didn't think about how stiff he felt. Instead, he turned and set his feet onto the ground. Every movement was carefully watched by Makoto. "Tokyo."

"Are you thinking of going to Tokyo, Haru?" Makoto, of course, guessed what Haru was thinking.

"Haruna's there."

"Maybe..."

"I find her." Haru stretched his legs again.

"Haru..." Makoto took a deep breath. "You can't." Haru turned and looked at Makoto. "You can't go to Tokyo and look for her."

"I go." Haru stood up and started towards the door. The bed let out a nice creak when Makoto stood up. Haru headed towards the main area where their teacher set out a rather simple meal made from some of the items found in the home. She took a deep breath and looked up.

"Is he going swimming?"

"Tokyo."

Makoto hurried forward and gently turned Haru around. "Nope. We don't need to be looking for you as well. Okay." Haru's friend pushed him slightly towards the table. "Eat."

Haru sat down and started picking at the food, but eventually began eating very slowly. Amakata sensei leaned over. "I'm right in being worried about him, aren't I."

"Probably. It's a rather complicated situation."


	5. Lost

The outward appearances indicating things for Haru were returning to normal and yet inwardly Haru didn't feel like they were. Makoto stayed for quite sometime after their homeroom teacher left making sure Haru got back into the routine of things. Each step of getting back into a routine felt grueling and yet Makoto didn't give up on his friend but even made sure Haru was snug in his bed rather than cowering under the sheets.

The return to his daily routine didn't prevent Haru from dreaming, but this time the dream was different.

He found himself walking around a small space, but also saw a couple of men with masks who opened the door every so often. In the back of Haru's mind, he wondered why he didn't simply punch one of the guys in the nose and escape. Eventually one of the men let him go to the bathroom and Haru locked the door behind him. When he looked into the mirror, he saw nothing but a blur as the mirror along with the rest of the bathroom wasn't cleaned in a long time. The ropes around his wrists chafed his wrists painfully.

His attention turned towards the window and he stepped up onto the toilet and began shifting the window open. He felt his fingers scrape against the windowsill painfully as he wrenched the window open and the next thing he knew he was sliding through the window. In the back of his mind, Haru wondered how someone his particular size would fit through the window as he was quite muscular but quickly didn't think anything of it as his bare feet touched the ground.

He began walking as the items on the ground bit into his feet, but the darkness of the city around him prevented him from seeing where he was going and yet he kept going despite the pain he felt. Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he felt himself turning towards the person in fright, and yet Haru wondered why he should be afraid.

Instead of seeing who tapped him on the shoulder Haru saw instead the ceiling of his room. A few rays of sunlight came in through the windows. Haru sat up and walked to the door so he could slip on his shoes. His hand reached out and grabbed his wallet and phone before determinedly walking towards the nearby train station which would take him to Tokyo. None of the neighbors out and about paid him much mind as they'd become used to Haru's odd behaviors.

He bought a ticket and sat waiting as a few more rays of sunlight appeared. When the train arrived, he got onto the train and sat down again. One of the on-train vendors came by offering a bento, or box lunch to eat and Haru said, "Mackerel?"

"No, sorry. I don't have any bento with mackerel."

"Oh. No thank you."

The train continued on the route to Tokyo and Haru looked out the window as the scenery rushed by. Eventually, the entire train filled with sunlight. A few passengers came and went at some of the stops, but Haru paid this no mind and instead focused on his sole task of getting to Tokyo, though if someone offered him mackerel, he might find himself distracted from the task. Focusing on the task stopped him from worrying, but he wasn't at all bothered by his task.

His phone went off and Haru flipped the phone open.

" _Haru! Where the hell are you! I looked at your house, the beach, the school pool, the classroom..._ "

"Tokyo."

Makoto went silent.

"Tokyo, Makoto."

" _I heard you Haru. I also told you last night_ _not_ _to go._ "

"I go. I find."

" _I told you we don't need to go looking for you as well._ "

"I find her."

" _Haru, do you even understand how big Tokyo is? It's not some small seaside village like our village is. It's a very big and scary place._ "

"That's why I go." Haru heard Makoto let out a sigh just as the train announced the interchanging stop. "I've got to go."

"Haru, Wait a second. Don't..."

Haru didn't give Makoto the chance to say not to hang up on him yet didn't realize that was what Makoto was trying to say. He got off at the station and carefully looked at the chart before getting on his next train and repeated the process. Soon the rural scenery was replaced with the sight of the buildings in Tokyo and Haru sat up straight. He recognized the sight from the few times he'd visited his parents in the city but didn't seemed perturbed by the rather vast city as he was familiar with the station they came into.

That was until his stomach grumbled.

Haru's attention turned to finding something to eat; specifically, he was thinking of filling his stomach with mackerel. After walking for some time he found a convenience store and walked in so he could buy some canned mackerel and a box of forks so he could eat them. He walked over to the counter with his canned mackerel along with his box of forks and set them down on the counter. The clerk looked up at him in curiosity. "I've not seen you here before."

"No."

"Shouldn't you be in school? I mean, you look like you're still in high school."

"No."

"Are you sure you're not playing hooky."

"Yes."

In Haru's mind, this wasn't a lie. The man had indeed never seen him before. He wasn't supposed to be in class because he was looking for her. He wasn't playing hooky because his task of looking for her was important, and nothing could convince him otherwise. That is, nothing but mackerel and an inviting body of water screaming, " _swim in me!_ "

Haru headed out and found a place he could sit and eat his can of mackerel in peace and carefully savored every single bite. He tossed the can into the bin as there was no place for recycling. His blue eyes stared at the box of leftover forks wondering what he should do with it when a noise drew his head up. He saw a bus drive by with a picture of the missing idol.

He also realized he was hopelessly lost. His hand went to his phone and his finger went to the button which had Makoto's number programmed in. Makoto's voice soon came on the other line sounding slightly exasperated. " _Haru_..."

"I'm lost."

" _I am honestly not surprised. That's why we're on our way to get you. That's what I was going to say before you interrupted me. Stay where you are and I will find you, but if a police officer asks you, let them help you._ "

"Find Haruna?"

" _No, no. I am not going to prioritize finding her over you. You, I just need to follow the GPS tracker on your phone._ "

"Oh. What's that?"

" _It's simply something I set up in case something like this happened. The odds were slim, but I need you to hang up and wait. Okay?_ "

"Okay."


	6. Finding Haru

In the back of his mind Makoto knew he should have seen what Haru did coming, what with how distracted Haru was during his normal routine, and yet Makoto was overjoyed Haru wasn't sulking under a blanket anymore.

He arrived at Haru's home in the morning in high hopes of seeing his friend cooking mackerel at the stove but instead found the kitchen completely silent. Makoto headed straight towards Haru's room and yet didn't find him there. His eyes caught sight of Haru's bookbag sitting on the desk and swallowed. In the back of his mind, Makoto knew Haru always put the bag in the exact same spot and yet Haru hadn't grabbed the bag for school.

He picked up Haru's bookbag and swung it over his shoulder in case Haru's mind became distracted by the idea taking a swim, and yet the lack of change in the kitchen from when he left Haru's place the night before honestly bothered Makoto. He didn't see Haru swimming at the beach or any of the other places Haru would logically mean which meant Haru most likely did what he told him not to.

Makoto thus called Haru only to be hung up on when Haru became distracted by something. Gripping his phone in his hand Makoto headed towards the teacher's staffroom and peeked in looking for Amakata sensei. She glanced up and saw him standing there in the doorway and saw what was in his hand. "Tachibana, you're not supposed to use your phone at school."

"It's an emergency Amakata sensei."

"What do you mean?"

"Haru went to Tokyo."

"He what?" Amakata sensei's eyes blinked in disbelief.

"Can I go after him?"

"Tachibana, how are you not going to end up lost as well?"

"I can track his phone with mine."

Makoto watched his teacher close her eyes and let out a deep sigh. "You know, if I didn't know Haru as well as I did I would honestly be worried about you tracking his phone without him realizing." Her hand reached out for a piece of paper. "Feel free to take any of the other swim club members with you. I will let the principle and their teachers know. Here is the school's information in case you need it."

"Thanks, sensei." Makoto took the piece of paper from her and stuffed it into his pants pocket. He personally hoped he wouldn't need the piece of paper, nor did he plan on taking any of the other swim club members with him.

"Makoto-senpai?"

The voice made Makoto stop walking out of the school and slowly turn towards the person. "Kou..."

"Where's Haruka-senpai?"

"Ah..." Makoto felt the corner of his mouth twitch slightly.

He watched Gou's eyes narrow and her lips press together. "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

"I don't believe you, plus you're leaving school rather than coming, so I'll repeat my question. Where's Haruka-senpai?"

Makoto glanced away and muttered under his breath. "Tokyo."

"What is he doing in Tokyo?"

"This is Haru we're talking about."

"Are you really going all the way to Tokyo to retrieve him?"

"I'll call my parents and let them know what's going on as soon as I get to the station, but Akamata senpai already knows I'm going after him. I've really got to get going." He turned towards the exit but felt a hand grab onto his school uniform.

"I'm going with you."

"Wait. No." Makoto turned back towards Gou.

"You can't stop me."

"Your brother is going to kill me."

"My brother is going to kill Haruka-senpai when he finds out what he did. I'm going to kill Haruka-senpai when we find him!"

Makoto felt the corners of his mouth twitch again. "Yeah. He definitely is going to chew Haru out for this." He took a deep breath. "Well, sensei did say I could take the swim club with me, but I still think this is a bad idea."

"Haru going to Tokyo on his own is a bad idea."

"When he's like this, yeah."

When he got on the train he still wasn't sure _how_ she talked him into letting her come. She called Rin on her phone and left a message for him while he called Haru. Makoto wasn't surprised to find himself having the conversation he was having with Haru. Upon arriving in Tokyo he set about tracking down Haru while Gou followed close behind. "Did you really bug Haru's phone?"

"It's simply a program parents use to keep track of their kids and their kids' cell phones."

"That sounds so wrong Makoto-senpai."

Makoto honestly didn't care how wrong anything sounded so long as they found Haru. They found him sitting on a bench looking at an opened box of forks. Gou took a deep breath and walked over and leaned over so she was now in his face. "Haru-chan." Makoto winced as Gou called Haru-chan knowing full well his friend wasn't fond of being called Haru-chan; Makoto was, in fact, the one person who got away with it other then...

... the other Haru-chan.

A deep sigh escaped from Makoto's lungs as he watched Haru look up. The frown on Haru's face indicated he was in fact displeased with her use of Haru-chan. She lightly popped him on the forehead with her fingers and continued speaking in the slightly sing-song manner. "Kou-chan is very upset with you. Never, ever worry her like that again, okay?"

Makoto watched Haru's facial features soften as if he understood only for Haru to simply say, "Oh."

Gou stood up straight. "So, what's with the box of forks?"

"Canned mackerel."

Gou let out a deep sigh. "Is that all you've eaten today? A can of mackerel?" She reached down and gently tugged on Haru's arm. "Come on. Let's get you something more substantial to eat."

Haru, of course, hesitated in following. Makoto walked over and took the box of forks and put it into his own school bag. "We'll need to retrieve your school bag from school. I'd taken it to the classroom hoping you'd forgotten it only to find out you came here."

"Oh." Haru let Gou pull him up and towards the direction of a small nearby café. While Haru didn't apologize for his actions Makoto recognized his friend was, in fact, apologetic for his actions, yet he also knew Haru would never verbalize an apology. There were a lot of things Haru didn't verbalize. The bell on the café door jingled as they entered and they found a seat at one of the booths. Gou pulled Haru into the booth next to her, yet seemed quite pleased with this.

Makoto sat on the other side.

"You kids aren't skipping school are you."

"No."

Makoto felt his mouth twitch knowing full well in Haru's mind he wasn't skipping school. "No. We have permission to be here." At least he and Gou did. "I have our school's contact information if you need it."

"No. what can I get you."

"Mackerel?"

"Haru, this is a café. They don't serve anything with fish in it."

"We'll have..." Gou quickly ordered for all of them and the waitress left. She spoke in a whisper so nobody else could hear. "Haruka-senpai, what did you mean you aren't skipping school? You actually are."

"He doesn't think he is." Makoto shook his head. His phone went off and he picked up the phone. A frown spread across his face. "I've got to take this."

"Who is it?" Gou asked while Haru looked down at the table.

"Haru's parents."

"The school didn't contact them."

"No. They've been trying to contact Haru." Makoto stood up and stepped out of the café so he could answer the call. For a brief second, he thought Gou was pleased with having Haru to herself, yet brushed the thought away.

" _Makoto! Is Haruka with you?_ "

"Yes, Mrs. Nanase. Haru is with me."

" _We've been trying to contact him_ _ever since Haruna_ _disappeared._ "

"I know. I heard the messages on the machine. I should have contacted you, but I was kind of worried about him. You know how he is."

" _I am so glad you're there in Iwatobi to keep an eye out for him._ " Haru's mother let out a sigh of relief. " _That said, can you get Haru to Tokyo as soon as possible._ "

"Um..." Makoto wasn't sure if he should say they were already there, particularly since the reason why would worry Haru's mother.

" _They found Haruna. We've got to finalize some things with the police, but Haruka can go ahead and see her at the hospital as soon as you get here._ "

Makoto let out a sigh of relief and shoved his free hand in his pocket and looked up at the sky. "Thank god."

And yet, in the back of his mind, he knew the police being involved wasn't a good thing.


	7. Haru-chan

Makoto heard the bell on the door jingle again when he re-entered the café. He headed over towards the booth where Gou was enjoying herself, but Makoto couldn't blame her when she was getting out of class without getting into trouble because of Haru. Haru was of course absorbed in eating his food and acted as if he hadn't heard Makoto when he said Haru's parents had called him.

In a way, it was a good thing as it meant Haru's mind wasn't on Haruna.

Gou glanced up when Makoto arrived. "So? Did you tell them? About what Haru did? They'd want to know, right?"

"Not exactly. I'll tell them later when the time is more appropriate." Makoto sat down and began eating his own food. "Haru, after we're done eating we're going to go see Haruna at the hospital, okay?" Makoto watched Gou's mouth twist into a frown while Haru stood up and start heading to the door. He watched a slight glint appear in Haru's eyes and his mouth twist ever so slightly. Makoto quickly stood and stepped out to the side. "No. When we're done eating, okay?"

Haru's eyes narrowed and his mouth twisted ever so slightly into a frown, but he sat down. Gou's mouth twisted into a rather obvious frown. "Wait. Is this Haruna that..."

Makoto quickly lifted a finger to his lips indicating she shouldn't say anything more. "It's probably not public knowledge yet." Gou glared at him as if she knew there was something he wasn't telling her. "But yes, it is her." He watched Haru stuff a rather large bite of food into his mouth and grimaced knowing full well what would happen next. Haru choked and clapped a fist to his chest. "And you. Eat slowly. We don't need you ending up in the hospital as well."

"Rin doesn't like her, but I'm honestly confused as to why you three know her, considering..." Gou obviously got the message not to use certain words.

Makoto let out a sigh and continued eating his food and enjoying the silence while keeping an eye on Haru who returned to eating his food slowly, and yet the excitement remained on his face. Gou glanced over at him and continued picking at her food, but ended up not finishing what she ordered. They next headed to the nearby transit location so they could proceed to the hospital. "Hey, Haru. Could I check your phone."

Haru pulled out his phone and glanced at it. "Batteries dead."

"That would explain why your mom and dad called me and not you. That or..." Makoto didn't finish the fact they may have called him with the news knowing full well Haru might act irrationally upon hearing the news. While on the transit line taking them to the hospital Haru started fidgeting ever so slightly. "Hey, calm down. We'll be there soon, and you can see Haruna."

He didn't catch sight of Gou glancing away with a rather pained look on her face. When they got off the transit and had Haru pointed in the right direction of the hospital he found himself latching onto the back of Haru's shirt so he wouldn't walk too fast or into traffic. Upon arrival he approached the front desk of the floor Haruna was on while Gou stood back with Haru. Makoto didn't catch on to the nervous look on Gou's face.

"I'm sorry. Only family can see her."

"I know, but..."

"Where did your friend go?"

Makoto felt a feeling of dread when he turned around. Haru was of course gone. Gou noticed the look on his face and turned to where Haru was standing only moments before. Her mouth formed a circle before she took off after Haru. Makoto took a deep breath before leaning over and whispering something to the person behind the desk.

Her eyes widened slightly, and she pointed in a specific direction and gave him the room number. "Oh. Well, that explains it."

"I've got to go after him before he gets into trouble." Makoto took off and quickly caught up with Gou. More importantly, both could see Haru proceeding through the hospital at a rather quick pace frantically peeking into the various rooms. A light yelp was heard from one room and Makoto let out a groan. Eventually, Haru found the hallway on which Haruna's room was on. Haru, of course, saw the bodyguards standing outside and made a beeline.

Makoto let out a groan as Haru quickly ducked under their arms into the room. One of the men turned. "Hey! You can't...

"Haruka-senpai!" Gou and Makoto increased their walking pace, but the guards glanced up. The looks on their indicated a form of realization and they stepped aside slightly.

Makoto took a deep breath when he peeked into the room. Haru sat in the chair beside the bed. Haru's hands and feet twitched slightly, but Makoto was sure the look on Haru's face was that of anxiousness, or at least what Makoto would recognize as such. He heard Gou verbally swallow as she stood by him but didn't look at her face. Haruna at first remained perfectly still. An IV ran into her arm helping to rehydrate her, but her wrists were bandaged up.

Eventually, Haruna opened her eyes and Makoto saw a pair of eyes which matched Haru's. "Haru, is that you?" The frown on Makoto's face deepened when he saw Haru's fidgeting increase. "Haru-chan, are you crying?" Makoto watched Haruna reach her hand up to Haru's face gently. "It's okay. I'm alive, meaning the bad guys didn't win, okay."

Makoto heard a deep gasp from Gou and finally turned toward's Rin's sister. He saw her walking away from him. Her arms were wrapped around her tightly. Makoto turned towards the guards. "I'll be back in a bit for Haru."

He hurried after her and saw Gou was definitely upset. "Look, Haruna is..." He changed the direction of his words lest someone else overhear what he was saying. "The line of business she's in means there's a chance for things like this to happen."

"It's not that. I really should be heading back to Iwatobi. You know, to tell everyone Haru is okay, particularly Rin." Gou's hands wrapped around her chest tighter, but for some reason, Makoto thought she – Gou of all people – was going to cry. She then said, "Haruka-senpai really likes this Haruna person, doesn't he?"

"Wait? You think..." Makoto's eyes widened, but realization began setting in. "Kou, you don't have a crush on Haru do you?"

Gou looked up at him and put an obviously fake smile on her face. "Are you kidding me? Who would have a crush on Haruka-senpai? He'd make the worst boyfriend ever, what with the fact he'd pay more attention to water and mackerel than whoever he was dating, but he does weird and embarrassing things." Makoto watched her swallow slightly. "And plus, I may have a muscle fetish, but I would never, ever date a guy simply because I find them good looking. Never."

"So there isn't anything you like about Haru?" Makoto watched her carefully.

"That..." Gou swallowed nervously again and looked at the ground.

"I really need to be going. I don't need to make my brother worry."

Gou turned and walked away. Makoto closed his eyes in frustration but knew he'd need to talk to Rin as Gou clearly misunderstood the situation between Haruka and Haruna.


	8. Aqua Breeze

Haru knew he wanted to see Haruna.

Haru's one track mind struggled with keeping on task. In his mind Haruna was important, but he also wanted to know she was okay. The anxiety of not knowing where she was became replaced by the anxious feeling of wanting to see her as soon as possible. There was no water or maceral around to distract him from his task of seeing Haruna.

There was, however, a rather annoying woman behind the counter effectively making seeing Haruna take longer. With his mind focused on seeing her, Haru simply took off. He walked down the hallways peeking into every room not caring who or what was inside so long as that who or thing was in fact Haruna.

Turning one corner allowed Haru's blue eyes the chance of catching sight of Haruna's bodyguards. Haru found himself hurrying forward. The bodyguards attempted blocking his way, but he simply ducked under their arms into the room. Lying on the bed was Haruna as he expected and he walked over and plopped into the chair near her bed.

Haruna lay in the bed perfectly still. Her long locks of black hair cascade around her shoulders while her eyes remained closed. Her chest rose and fell with each breath, but her hands were bandaged around the wrists. Her fingers were scraped up, but beyond that Haru didn't see any injuries as he looked at her.

"Haru, is that you?" Haruna's eyes opened up. "Haru-chan, are you crying?" Her hand reached up to wipe a tear away. "It's okay. I'm alive, meaning the bad guys didn't win, okay." Haru didn't say anything and instead watched Haruna turn over onto her side so she could look at him better. "I'm surprised." Haru didn't respond to her statement. "I didn't think you would ever notice I wasn't around."

Haru didn't think that true, yet didn't respond in any manner to what he felt should be obvious.

"Haru-chan?" Haruna's soft voice slowly calmed Haru down. "Could you possibly do me a favor?" Haru still didn't respond verbally let alone with any movement. "I know you don't like holding hands with people, but could you hold my hand? Please?"

Haru's eyes drifted to Haruna's hands. Her normally flawless hands were scraped up at the tips and her wrists were wrapped up. He ever so slowly lifted his hand and reached for the easiest to reach hand, yet his movement remained hesitant. Gently he took her hand in his, but he also hoped he did this in a gentle manner which didn't hurt her any more than she already was.

Haru's eyes focused on the scrape on Haruan'as hands. His fingers eventually started stroking the scraped, but for some reason, he thought this would help. "Haru-chan, that hurts." Haru startled and let go of Haruna's hand. Despite the actin hurting her rather than helping her she still smiled at him like an angel. "It's okay. Maybe I should play with your hands instead?"

Haru knew what this meant. He waited for Haruna to sit up and then quickly held his hands out for her and waited even more. An amused yet slightly tired laugh left her lips.

"Hold on. I need one of my bodyguards to get some hand things from the hospital gift shop. While we're waiting you can play with my hair. You've always liked playing with my hair, right?" Haru definitely liked playing with Haru's hair. Her hair was nice and soft. She tilted her head towards the drawer beside her bed. "There's' already some hair things in there."

Haru quickly stood and headed towards the drawer right by the bed. In the drawer was a hairbrush along with various hairbands and hair clips. Haru scooped everything up while Haruna pulled the trey attached to the hospital bed for food over so he could dump the supplies onto the trey. He started by brushing out Haruna's hair and watched the tension slowly leave her body.

"You know, if we got you hair extensions I could play with your hair as well, right?"

Haru nodded his head in agreement while a hairband stuck out of his mouth.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh. You're here as well Makoto." Haruna's head tilted slightly as she looked up at the door at the person who just entered her hospital room.

Haru didn't look up as his friend and instead kept manipulating Haruna's hair.

"Haruna, why do you make Haru do these things?"

"Haru-chan's just helping me be presentable."

"I'm talking about you talking to him about playing with his hair, but more specifically telling him he should get hair extensions."

"It's not as if I'm asking you to do so." Haruna let out a light laugh. "After all, you're not my brother."

Haru finished styling Haruna's hair and looked up triumphantly. He heard the conversation going on between his sister and his friend, but the context went over his head. He instead turned towards Makoto and gave his friend a thumbs up sign. "Haruna looks pretty?"

He watched Makoto let out a sigh of exasperation. "Yes, Haru. Haruna looks pretty. You did a very good job."

Haru felt pleased with himself. One of the bodyguards came in and set a bag onto the trey. Haru looked right at the bag and didn't see the bodyguards look of exasperation and confusion. Haru instead held his hands out over the trey with his fingers spread wide.

"Haru, no."

"Oh, come on Makoto. Haru-chan doesn't mind."

Haru's lips pushed together in excitement as Haruna started giving him a manicure. He heard Makoto drag another chair over so he could sit on the other side. "Come on Haruna. You know how Haru is."

"What is your point?"

"I think you may be taking advantage of him."

Haruna looked up at Haru. "You're fine with this, right Haru-chan?"

Haru emphatically jerked his head up and down once making Makoto sigh again. "Haruna, Haru's not in elementary school anymore."

Haruna's mouth twisted slightly. "Look, I know you're trying to look out for my brother Makoto."

"I got lost." The words came out with no inflection in Haru's voice, for in his mind he was simply stating a fact. Makoto let out a groan this time.

Haruna stopped filing Haru's nails. "What does he mean by that?"

"Continue," Haru said.

This time Haruna let a sigh escape from her mouth. She started filing his nails again and continued until she finished. When she did, she asked. "Can you tell me what you meant by getting lost, Haru?" She pulled the nail polishes out of the bag next. They were in a variety of colors, but her mouth formed into a circle. "Oh. They have my colors."

This brought a ground from Makoto. The corners of Haru's mouth turned down ever so slightly. "I ate canned maceral. I sat with my forks. Makoto found me. He has my forks."

Haruna unscrewed a bottle of nail polish with a color which reminded Haru of water. "This one's called aqua breeze. Does it remind you of water, Haru-chan?"

"Yes." Haru watched Haruna begin painting one of his nails with the color she picked.

"Makoto, what does Haru mean by that?"

"Haru decided he would go looking for you. Thankfully I found him."

"Wait. He came all the way to Tokyo?"

"I told him not to."

"Haruna?" Haru didn't like seeing Haruna's face twist up like it now was. "You angry?"

Her blue eyes blinked a couple of times. Haruna started smiling again at her brother. She'd painted two nails with the water like nail polish on one hand, and one nail on the other hand. "I'm not mad. You getting lost scares me, okay."

"Me too."

"He means you being lost scared him."

Haruna ignored Makoto and picked a different color of nail polish. "Do you still like dolphins, Haru-chan?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll paint a dolphin on some of your nails."

"Mackerel?"

"No. I'm not painting mackerel on any of your nails, Haru-chan." Haruna let out a laugh before looking at Haru's friend in the eye. "Thank you for looking out for my brother, Makoto."


	9. Irritating

He honestly hated Nanase Haruna.

Thinking of how she treated Haru left Rin with an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his gut. Deep down he knew Makoto was right in saying Haru didn't care and yet Rin found himself caring. He hated how Haru always did what Haruna wanted him to regardless of the end results, but he also hated how Haruna disappearing made Haru fall to pieces.

Of course, Rin couldn't erase from his brain the resurgence of the memory of Haru dressing up as Haruna's twin sister back during their elementary school days.

"What's going on?"

Rin found himself staring at his sister whose maroon eyes were now inches from his. He'd walked into the Matsuoka family home thinking about one of his worst childhood nightmares and not remembered the others were there. While he welcomed the distraction from thinking about the memory, he also couldn't disclose anything. "Nothing."

"Come on!"

"I told you, nothing." Rin flicked his sister in the forehead and switched to speaking in English and said, "none of your business."

He was glad when everyone went home, and yet found himself relieved when he headed back to his dorm room at the Samezuka Academy as Gou hung over his shoulder pestering him about Haru. Getting back into the routine made him forget about the situation back home, and yet somehow it remained in the back of his mind. The fact Gou kept messaging him about _what_ the nothing was didn't help.

"You're distracted."

Rin attempted blowing a semi-wet strand of hair from in front of his eyes. The last thing he needed was for the captain of the Samezuka Academy to get on his case. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You've been distracted ever since you returned. I thought you were looking forward to seeing your sister and your friends from the Iwatobi swim team?"

"It's nothing." Rin closed the locker in which he stored his swim gear and started walking out of the locker room. Mikoshiba Seijuro followed close behind.

"It's not nothing. Your starts are off slightly."

Rin swung his bag over his shoulder as they headed towards the cafeteria with the rest of the swim team so they could get something to eat. "I won't deny something happened this weekend."

"Is Gou-kun okay?"

"My sister is her usual annoying self." Rin let out a sigh and closed his eyes. "Speaking of which..." Rin reached into his bag as they entered the cafeteria and felt for his phone and pulled out the device; he could check back on Gou and her overzealous text now that the regular school day was done.

Seijuro narrowed his gold-colored eyes. "You aren't the type to normally check your phone?"

"As I said. Kou's been..." Rin stopped saying his sister was a major pest as he read her latest message.

" _Haruka senpai took off for Tokyo to look for that Haru-chan pop idol. Makoto senpai and I are going after him. Don't worry about us missing class as the teacher knows we're going after him. Makoto senpai also has a program on his phone so we can track Haruka senpai down._ "

"Okay..." Seijuro reached for Rin's phone and plucked it from his hands. "You're jaw is hanging, so..." Seijuro's golden eyes took in the message. "Okay. Now I'm distracted. What is going on?"

"How the hell should I know?" Rin's voice strained. "I honestly have no idea what goes through Haru's mind sometimes."

Seijuro glanced at the phone. "Wait. Does Gou-kun actually mean _that_ pop idol who went missing?"

Another member of the team and Rin's roommate stopped short upon hearing their captain speak up. Rin didn't pay any attention. "I really hate her."

"Gou-kun?" Seijuro looked at Rin in surprise. "She's your sister."

" _Not_ her."

"How can you not like Haru-chan? She's sweet and pretty."

"She's evil." Rin also could erase from his mind that Haruna was a female Haru. That, and she got Haru to dress up as...

"Why are we having a conversation about that missing pop idol?" Aiichiro's mouth twisted in confusion.

"I don't know. Apparently, Nanase Haruka went looking for her and... yeah. Rin likely knows more than I do."

"Not really." Rin took his phone back. "Look. I'm going to step outside and call my sister and see if I can't figure out what's going on." He stepped out of the cafeteria and pushed the button which would allow him to speak with his sister. "Kou..." What he heard from the other side was incoherent babbling. "Kou. Slow down. I can't understand what you're saying."

" _I hate Haru!_ " Gou said before shutting off her own cell phone.

"What?" Rin shook his head and decided he would call Makoto and see if he had anything to say. Rin heard the ring in his ear, but Makoto didn't pick up. He let out a sound of annoyance before going back in. He got his food and proceeded to the table where the rest of the swim team sat. "Captain. You have a younger sister, right?"

Seijuro looked up in amusement. "Yeah. That doesn't make me an expert on them."

Aiichiro brushed a few locks of grey hair away from his blue eyes. "Did she say anything?"

"I didn't get the first part, but the last was that she for some reason hates Haru." Rin poked his food. "Right now, I just want to eat my food."

Eating helped him calm down before heading back to the dorm rooms. On the way, his phone rang, and he answered. "Hello?"

" _Sorry I didn't call back earlier. I'm in the hospital and had my phone off._ "

"What are you doing at the hospital?"

"So..." Aiichiro shoved his hands into his pockets while Seijuro shook his head. "Haru is in the hospital? No wonder your sister's mad at him."

" _No, no. They found Haruna._ "

"Okay. So, the reason she's mad at him is because he took off?" Rin watched his fellow teammates look at each other in confusion.

" _Um, no. She wasn't upset until after we got to the hospital._ "

Rin felt his eyebrows go up. "So, she's upset because Haruna's in the hospital."

" _No. She thinks Haru and Haruna are dating._ "

Rin started to laugh at the absurdity and then realized the implications of the absurdity. "That's disgusting."

" _She doesn't know that they're siblings._ "

"Yeah, well I wouldn't put it past Haruna, okay? I mean, look at the things she's done to Haru in the past." Rin noticed the confusion on his teammates faces change to curiosity.

For a few minutes, Makoto went silent. " _No. She wouldn't. More importantly..._ "

" _What_ is more important than Haruna manipulating Haru into..."

" _First, that's not what is going on, though..._ " Makoto cleared his voice. " _You're still missing the fact Kou is upset because she thinks they're dating._ "

"So? I don't get why Kou would be upset about that."

Makoto let out a sigh. " _Because she has a crush on Haru._ "

Rin burst into laughter. "Um. No. No way. No way she..." He took a deep breath. "Thank you, Makoto for the laugh. I'll certainly sleep well tonight."

He clicked the phone off. Seijuro let an eyebrow go up in curiosity yet didn't push the issue, but gave Aiichiro a look indicating he shouldn't pry either.


	10. Sinking In

" _Why are they so obsessed with her?_ "

The girls at Iwatobi High School certainly enjoyed making the pop idol Haru-chan one of the main topics of discussion whenever they gossiped in whispers among each other. Gou discovered the obsession when she first started at Iwatobi High School, yet she still didn't understand the reason. While the pop idol was a celebrity with local connections, she didn't attend the school.

Sometimes Gou wondered if her issue with the pop idol came down to her own insecurities regarding her masculine traits including her masculine name. After all, she insisted people call her Kou which had a softer pronunciation in her opinion. She then overheard the girls painting Haru-chan as perfect without having ever met her; in the back of Gou's mind she knew nobody was that perfect, yet in wondering what Haru-chan's flaw was she simply assumed she must be a bitch.

"It kind of serves her right."

Out of curiosity, Gou looked up at the girl speaking. Gou didn't know the name of the girl despite knowing she was considered in the very least the most beautiful girl in the entire school, or more specifically acted like she was. Gou personally wasn't sure how the other students figured out who was the most beautiful and played with her hair.

"I mean, she was getting a bit of an ego and needed something to bring her down a notch."

"Kidnapping though?" One of the other girls seemed unsure of what the first was saying. Gou noticed the girl was their class representative, Tokuda Isamu.

"I tried speaking to her at one of the auditions I attended, but she was a bitch and gave me the cold shoulder. Wouldn't even talk to me, so yeah, the comments saying she's a bitch and a slut are true. I mean, everyone knows she sleeps with..."

"Okay, you're just being nasty now, Muranaka-san."

Gou's curiosity was of course perked, yet she didn't feel like prying. She found herself more interested in seeing if Haru came to school. In the back of her mind she wondered what Haru's connection with the pop idol was for him to react that way, yet Rin – no matter how much she bugged him – said nothing. The fact Haru didn't come honestly bugged her, yet she didn't press as Makoto requested.

Then Haru disappeared.

In the back of her mind she knew Haru was close to the pop idol Haru-chan; after all, he decided he'd try and find the pop idol in Tokyo despite not having any information. She pushed the thought into the back of her mind and instead focused on contacting her mother and brother letting them know what she was up to. The chance of going with Haru to the small café nearby honestly excited her even though Makoto wasn't there, but she enjoyed the few minutes of being alone with him. She was still in a good mood when they headed towards the hospital.

Everything sunk upon seeing Haru sitting next to Haru-chan.

" _Why do I feel this way?_ " Gou couldn't place her finger on the reason.

"Kou, you don't have a crush on Haru do you?"

The panicked feeling escalated. Everything after that became an emotional blur. She remembered telling Makoto he was wrong before leaving. She remembered feeling the hot tears at the corner of her eyes during the train ride back to Iwatobi. For a brief moment she thought about heading to Samezuka Academy so she might speak with Rin, and yet she feared he'd say she was silly for the way she felt.

Instead, she arrived home and went straight to her room while her mother called out asking if they'd found Haru. She buried her face into the pillow and let the tears flow. She felt a multitude of emotions all at once: anger, frustration, disappointment, embarrassment, yet couldn't place where these feelings came from.

"Gou?" The door to her room cracked open as her mother peeked in on her.

"Go away!"

"Alright. I'm here if you need to talk."

She continued crying until Rin called, but then blubbered into the phone at him; eventually, she hung up on him and went back to crying. She still felt like an idiot the next morning but put her school uniform on as if nothing happened. Gou leaned in close, wondering if she had bags under her eyes as she didn't feel as if she'd gotten a full nights sleep.

"Are you alright?"

Gou's head darted up when she heard this, but she swallowed back her anxiety and smiled. "I'm fine. Where's Haruka senpai?"

"He's still in Tokyo with..."

"Oh." Gou continued smiling even though it felt fake.

"Look, regarding Haru and..."

"I told you Makoto senpai. I don't have a crush on him." Except what felt like the truth yesterday now started feeling like a lie, and a very bitter one at that. Haru didn't come to school the next few days, which worried Rei and Nagisa. Makoto said he couldn't go into detail; despite this, he wanted to say something to Gou about the matter.

She brushed what he said to the back of her mind.

"Oh my gosh! Nanase senpai is dating Haru-chan!"

"What?" The Muranaka girl's eyes widened. "Why would she date him? What's so..."

"He's on the swim team."

'Is the swim team any good."

"Come on," Isamu took a deep breath. "We shouldn't.

"Gou-chan!" Nagisa came hurtling into the room. He reached for her arm and started tugging her towards the door.

"Nagisa, what..." Gou didn't like how the other girls noticed the commotion but followed after Nagisa. He pulled her aside where Rei clutched a magazine. His normally calm, emotionless face twisted in confusion. Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

Rei turned the magazine around allowing her to see a picture of Haru with Haru-chan together. She swallowed and pushed back the negative feeling she felt into the back of her head. "How did you get that? I didn't think you were the type..."

"Some of our classmates were looking at this when I confiscated it."

"Rei's our class representative."

Gou tried smiling. "Okay. I'm not surprised at hearing that, but that does explain why you have that."

"That's not the only thing." Nagisa snatched the magazine from Rei.

Gou took a deep breath and held out her hand. "Nope. No. I don't want to hear it."


	11. Chipped Normality

After a few days, the nail polish Haruna put onto his nails began to chip. Haru sat at the kitchen table at the apartment belonging to their parents. He held up his hand and examined the chipping of the nails while rays of sun appeared between the fingers. Looking at the colors on his nail reminded him Haruna was, in fact, safe, yet kept his mind occupied despite the disruption to his routine of normally going to school and swimming.

The sound of the shower turning off drew his attention to the bathroom. Haruna stepped out with a towel wrapped around her body before heading to her room to change. Haru let his chin rest against the top of the chair he sat backward in while his mind wandered to the idea things would be much simpler if Haruna simply wore a swimsuit like he constantly did. Things were much simpler that way.

He didn't look up even when the door to Haruna's bedroom opened. "Hey. Haru. Care to go and take a walk with me?"

Haru stood up and looked at his sister. She wore sunglasses and a hat for some reason Haru didn't understand. He watched her hand reach out but saw how her fingers wiggled as if inviting him to take her hand. "Please. It makes me feel safe."

"Hair?" Haru's eyes darted up to her head.

Haruna's mouth formed a circle. "Oh. Well, I would love for you to do my hair, but I can't risk anyone recognizing me?"

"Kidnappers?"

"We'll go with that." Haru reached out again and he took her hand. She walked with him down the hall to the elevator. "It's been a while since we've been able to hang out together."

"Yes."

"So, anything interesting going on."

"Swimming."

"Oh, I know. You love swimming."

"No. Swim club." Haru didn't receive a response right away and looked over at his sister who was puzzling over what he said."

"So you joined the swim club at your school?"

"Yes."

"I thought you gave up..." The elevator stopped and Haruna didn't finish what she wanted to say. She instead walked forward, and they started going wherever she wanted. When they released her from the hospital she said something about being allowed some time off, but wanting to spend this time with Haru. Haru saw the fountain in front of the apartment complex. His free hand started reaching up for his shirt so he could strip down to his swimsuit and take a dive into the cold water. "Uh-uh. That's not a place for swimming."

"Oh."

"You really joined the swim club."

Haru looked up at the sky and watched the clouds as they continued watching. "Yes."

"I see. I thought you'd given up competitive swimming. You know, because you upset your friend." Haru let out a grunt. "I guess I'll need to ask Makoto for details then?" Haru didn't answer and Haruna let out a sigh. "Anything else exciting happen since we last talked?"

"Bimbo teacher."

"Okay. I don't want to know about your bimbo teacher. That's just weird."

Haru glanced down and looked his sister in the eye. "Why?"

Haruna let out a sigh. "Maybe if I were a guy it wouldn't be weird hearing about my brother's fascination with an older woman."

Haru's eyes blinked in confusion. "Fascination?"

"As in you like her?"

"Not really." Haru's eyes caught sight of a dolphin plushie in a store window and he tugged his sister over while he proceeded in staring at it.

"Then why call her a bimbo?"

"She's weird."

Haruna laughed. "Haru, I'm not sure you're one to talk."

"Maybe." Haru's face got closer to the window so he could see the dolphin stuffed animal better. The stuffed animal looked super soft, but the dolphin had a mottling of purple and blue on it's cloth surface. The two black eyes twinkled slightly almost as if the dolphin were asking him to hug the creature.

"Haru. If I buy you that dolphin plushie, could you promise me something?"

"Yes."

"Could you promise me you won't take it into the tub with you?" Haruna's comment made Haru look at her wondering why she said something like that. The fact she wore glasses and a hat hiding her face seemed weird. A sigh escaped her mouth. "If you take it into the tub with you, it will ruin it. It's not a bath toy. More of a bedtime toy."

"Oh. Okay. No soggy dolphin." Haruna tugged him into the store and he found himself looking around at all the bright colors. She picked up the dolphin, but without him saying anything picked out a few water toys which caught his attention. Haruna let go of his hand so she could carry everything over to the front register so she could purchase the items.

The male cashier looked up at her but pointed their finger at her. "Wait. Are you the pop idol Haru-chan?" Haruna ignored the man while he scanned the items in. Haru on the other hand turned and looked at the other brightly colored items. "They say on the news that you faked your own kidnapping."

A deep sigh from Haruna as she paid for the items made Haru look u. She held the bag of items out so Haru could take the bag from her before proceeding to latch onto his free hand. Another sigh escaped from her mouth as they headed out into the sunshine. Haru held up his bag of goodies. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Haru." She took a deep breath. "Anything else happened? Other than the swim club and that you have a teacher you think is weird of course."

"Rin's sister."

"What?"

"Rin's sister."

"Rin's sister as in that 'Rin has a sister' person?"

"Rin's sister." Haru corrected her, but his eye narrowed in irritation yet kept holding her hand. "What do you mean by ' _Rin has a sister_ person'?"

"It means you must really like her."

"I don't follow."

"You really don't remember my visit after you met her? You wouldn't stop telling me, 'Rin has a sister'. That was _all_ you said Haru-chan." A laugh escaped Haruna's mouth. "You who normally talk about water, swimming, mackerel, and dolphins would only talk about Rin having a sister, but you never went into detail."

"I still don't follow."

"You're so adorable, Haru-chan!" Haruna let out a laugh before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek. It was then the sound of a camera flash went off and Haru found himself panicking. Haruna didn't seem pleased with whoever was taking pictures of them either and at first berated the person, but her attention soon returned to getting Haru back to the apartment so he could calm down. In the back of his mind, he filed away the fact another person was asking Haruna if she faked her own kidnapping as this didn't make sense to him.

"Hey Haru, I've been thinking."

Haru's head darted up. "Yes."

"I'm thinking I want to return to Iwatobi with you. Is that alright?"

Haru's eyes widened in excitement without thinking about why Haruna asked the question she did. "Yes. I'd like that."


	12. Unexpected

Nothing distracted him from his studies and training. The phone call from Makoto placed everything regarding Haruna behind him. Everyone else at school remained busy with their own school work and training, but the captain of the swim team and his roommate didn't ask for any more details. He didn't expect gossip to eventually travel, particularly since gossip seemed like something girls would do.

"They found that pop idol."

Makoto continued smiling at his teammate but wondered why they brought the subject up. Seijuro gave the team member a funny look, but Aiichiro's head turned. Makoto sighed. "And?"

"The rumor has it she arranged for her own kidnapping."

This, of course, made both the team captain and his roommate looked at him as if he had the answers. "Sure, she did. Why would she?"

"Why? Apparently, she has a boyfriend and wanted some time off to spend with him." It was then that the magazine came out and they opened it up to the picture.

Seijuro let out a laugh but sat up straight while crossing his arms. "Honestly, you really shouldn't believe those gossip rags, but if the teachers catch you with it you'll be in a lot of trouble."

Makoto glanced at the article upside down only for his eyes to narrow. "Wait..."

Aiichiro leaned in close. "Wait. Is that Nanase Haruka?"

Makoto felt his eye twitch slightly while his teammate with the magazine let out a sigh. "Man, that means I don't stand a chance with her. That said..."

Another laugh escaped Seijuro's mouth. "As if you stood a chance."

"Is that fingernail polish on his fingers?" Aiichiro asked. Rin closed his eyes in frustration; somehow he knew Haruna manipulated Haru into letting her paint his nails.

"Well, maybe I'd stand a chance with her twin sister."

"Her what?" Rin's eye snapped open.

"Yeah. There is a picture of her with her twin sister when she was younger, but they're both cute, so her sister must be good looking as well. Nobody knows where she disappeared to, or if they're trying to keep it on the down low that there are two of them. Maybe they don't want people to know that the twin is dating and she's still kidnapped."

"Let me see." Aiichiro picked up the magazine and looked at the image so Rin couldn't see the picture, and yet Rin didn't think he'd ever be able to erase the memory of Haru dressing like a girl from his mind. "Oh. You're right. They're identical." Aiichiro turned the magazine around and pushed the reading material towards Rin and their swim captain. "See for yourself."

Seijuro glanced down at the picture examining it carefully while Rin let out a groan at seeing the picture of Haruna and Haru as children. In the back of his mind, he wondered how the paparazzi got ahold of the picture in the first place. "What's your problem?"

"I don't think Rin sempai likes her."

"Wait! You know her!"

Rin wanted to pretend the person in front of him wasn't his teammate but found himself thankful he couldn't remember his name. Seijuro leaned in closer so he could examine the picture closer. "I don't think she has a twin sister."

"Oh, come on." Aiichiro's finger landed between the two twins in the picture. "They obviously look like each other."

Seijuro let out a sigh. "I won't deny that. I won't deny the fact they're twins either." A few of the other teammates who weren't a part of the conversation looked up in confusion. "However, I don't think she has a twin sister. I think she has a twin brother."

"What?" Aiichiro pulled the picture back and a few of the others leaned in. "How can you tell, if that is so?"

"I'm right. Aren't I Rin."

Rin took a deep breath while closing his eyes. "How did you know one of them was Haru?"

Seijuro shrugged his shoulders while watching the teammate who said he'd like to date Haruna's twin turned a deep shade of red. "They have the same eye color, but it is rather distinctive isn't it."

Aiichiro flipped back to the pictures of Haru and Haruna. His eyes quickly widened. "You're right."

"Wait. Why is he dressed as a girl."

Rin suddenly wished he didn't know Haru. "Honestly, I don't always know what goes on in Haru's mind. I think the only one who does is Makoto."

"She's his sister." Seijuro picked up his drink and took a sip. "You asked me the other night about having a sister, but I'd do some pretty embarrassing things for her if she asked simply because she was my sister, although she never has. Plus, they're twins."

Aiichiro looked at the picture. "Actually, if I had a female twin I think it would be fun to fool people into thinking we were both girls and seeing the reaction when people found out."

"You could possibly still pull it off. I mean, passing as a twin to your twin sister if you had one." This comment made Sejuro elbow the person beside him.

"None of that."

Aiichiro shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly, I don't have a problem with them saying that. Of course, right now I'm still thinking it would be a lot of fun to fool people. Unfortunately, I'm not lucky enough to have a twin sister who looks like me."

"Yeah, well, I'm not sure if that was what Haru was thinking when he did it, to be honest." Rin closed the magazine. "Could we possibly not talk about this? There's a reason I don't like her."

Seijuro frowned. "Wait. Wasn't your sister mad at Haru?"

"Yeah, so?"

"And she'd met this Haruna?"

"Where are you getting at captain?"

A sigh escaped Seijuro's mouth. "I guess I'm out of luck when it comes to Gou-kun."

Rin frowned, knowing full well the crush the captain had on his sister. While he was honestly glad Seijuro was giving up on his sister, and yet he didn't understand why. He couldn't think of a way to ask why the swim team captain was giving up, but Aiichiro did. "You're giving up on getting Rin senpai's sister from dating you? Why?"

"She likes Nanase-san. As in Nanase Haruka."

"Wait? What?" Rin looked Seijuro in the eye. "Why do you say that?"

"She was mad at him because she thought they were dating."

Rin still didn't want to believe Gou had a crush on Haru, for that seemed like one of the most unbelievable things he could think of.


	13. Home Coming

Haruna returning home excited Haru. He waited with his bag of toys impatiently while she packed her suitcase, but her agent met her with a uniform for Iwatobi High School in a garment bag. The man smiled at her. "I think this is a good move on your part. You'll still be able to come for auditions once you're ready to start up again, but your in such a small town that the paparazzi will be noticed."

"Sill, you're sending my bodyguards with me."

"Yes. I've found living quarters for them in Iwatobi. Since you're taking the train, one will ride with you and keep an eye from the distance and another will drive."

Haruna hooked her arm into Haru's before taking a deep breath and stepping onto the train which would take them back to Iwatobi. She let him have the window seat so he could look out the window, but the journey was a relatively pleasant trip. He even enjoyed the bento Haruna bought for him even though it didn't have mackerel. Upon arriving, Haruna took a deep breath of fresh air. "Honestly, this is what I needed."

The two started walking back to the house with the bodyguard close behind. Haru's eyes caught sight of the ocean, but Haruna tugged at his arm which in turn pulled his attention away. When they arrived at their grandmother's house the bodyguard bid them a good day and they walked in. Haruna took a deep breath. "It's not changed."

"No."

"I'll prepare something, though I'm not sure what ingredients you have."

"Mackeral."

"Haru!" Haruna opened up the fridge and her eyes widened. Her hand reached for a note left on the shelf and read the note. "Oh. Makoto's mother made you some dishes and went shopping for perishables but made sure to clean out the fridge of things which might spoil." She turned and looked at Haru. "You didn't tell them I was coming?"

"Is there not enough?" Haru walked over. Makoto's mother prepared a lot of dishes.

"No. It was just that the note was addressed to you. If she had known, she would have included me as well, right."

"Oh. That's how you knew."

"I guess I'll have to make you breakfast instead."

"I eat mackerel."

"Haru," Haruna shook her head in disbelief. They sat at the table eating the items Haruna decide to reheat, but she seemed deep in thought. When Haru finished he picked up his plates and proceeded to wash, dry and put away before heading to the bathroom and drawing up a nice tub of cold water. He found himself sinking into the water and enjoying the feel. Eventually, a muffled sound was heard during one of his dives and he sat up letting the water drip off him. "Haru? Are you almost done in there so I can use the tub?"

He'd not had to share the tub since granny passed away except for the holidays when his parents and Haruna came to visit, and yet Haruna stayed away on many of those holidays. He enjoyed getting to see her ring in the new year bell and the other things she did during those times away. He stood up and stepped out of the tub dripping wet before walking over to the door and opening it.

"Haru!" Haruna's face turned red. "You can't walk out of the bathroom naked! I'm..."

Haru pointed down at his swim trunks.

"Oh." Her face turned even redder. "How am I to know you're swimming and not taking a bath? You do take baths without your swim trunks?"

"Yes?"

"Haru, that sounds like a no."

"I'm naked."

"Haru, you're supposed to be naked when you wash." Harun took a deep breath. "Never mind. May I take a bath?"

"Yes. I'm going to bed." He awoke to the smell of food cooking. On his way to the kitchen, he saw a sign on the bathroom Haruna made from things in her old room. The sign read, ' _Haru is swimming._ ' He reached out and turned the sign around and saw, ' _Haru is not swimming'_. "Oh." He walked into the kitchen and found Haruna cooking. "Mackerel?"

"No."

"No mackerel?"

"No mackerel."

Haru looked at the table in sadness. Haruna placed a plate of food in front of him and he started eating. When they were almost finished the door opened. "Haru, we need..." Makoto's voice suddenly cracked. "Haruna? What are you doing here?"

"I needed a break, so I arranged for me to transfer to the school here."

"You _what_?"

"What are you doing here?"

Makoto stepped into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. "Hold on a sec. I always stop by to make sure Haru gets to school on time and doesn't forget to go because he decided to stop and take a swim in the ocean." Haru watched Haruna turn and give him a look which made Haru simply stare at her as he didn't understand why she gave him the look. "How come this is the first I'm hearing about it?"

Haruna continued looking at Haru. "Apparently someone forgot to tell you." She turned and smiled at Makoto. "Could you thank your mother for the food for me?"

"Yeah. Sure, though you don't need to."

"I insist." Haruna stood up and took her dish to the sink. "We should be going Haru."

Haru stood up and grabbed his school bag. He then noticed the upset look on Makoto's face and reached out to patted Makoto on the head. "I'm not a dog Haru."

"Oh."

"Makoto just thinks I'm trying to replace him." Haruna's mouth twisted into a smirk.

"Oh."

"I do not think that!" Makoto walked out of the house with them but didn't lock the door behind him.

"Oh."

"Stop that Haru."

Haru turned and saw Makoto's face turn red. "Why are you embarrassed?"

"Your sister is infuriating. Rin is going to be pissed."

"Speaking of Rin, I heard Haru's been hanging out with his sister."

"Kou-chan?" Makoto rubbed the back of his neck nervously as if he didn't want to say something. "She's the swim club manager."

"Oh. Anything else I should know."

"Uh, no." Makoto's voice strained slightly.

"You're hiding something," Haruna said in a sing-song voice.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are, but I'm going to find out what it is."

It was then that Haru noticed the ocean and started making a beeline for the water. Makoto grabbed the back of his neck. "Not today. Sorry." Haru watched Makoto's head turn and Haru turned his own head to see what Makoto was looking at. A black car was following them. "Haruna, are you aware someone has been following us."

Haru suddenly felt angry and tried heading towards the car, but Makoto continued holding onto the back of his uniform. Haruna turned her head but didn't seem bothered by this, yet Haru didn't notice. "Yes. After what happened they'd want to make doubly sure my bodyguards are nearby."

"They aren't going to be on the school grounds?"

"Only if I stay after school for a school activity. That's the arrangement we made with the principle. They'll remain parked nearby, but the police were alerted that they would be present as well."

They arrived at the school, but Haru noticed quite a few staring and felt uncomfortable. Haruna turned towards Haru. "Hey, Haru-chan?" This made him focus on her. "Care to show me where the teacher's lounge is?"

"Oh." Haru walked to the place the teachers met and found Amakata sensei waiting for them. She seemed agitated for some reason but was muttering to herself. When they got closer, he heard her muttering something about telling them apart. Haru walked over. "Sensei?"

"Oh. You must be Nanase-san's brother Haruna who is transferring in."

Haru stared at the teacher as if she were an idiot. Makoto let out a sigh."Sensei, you did it again."

"What?"

"I'm actually Nanase Haruna." Hearing his sister speak made Haru turn his head and see Makoto covering his eyes. "What do you mean by again?"

"On her first day, she thought Haru was a girl."

"Oh. No wonder he thinks she's weird." Haruna turned and looked at Amakata sensei who stood trying to get a word out. "Yes, I'm that pop idol."

"No. It's no wonder Haru was upset when he saw the news broadcast. We've been worried about him." Amakata sensei blinked. "Oh. I'm your homeroom teacher and the teacher in charge of the swim club. Matsuoka had arranged an event for the team to destress before getting back to training."

Haru pointed at her and looked at his sister. "She wanted to be a swimsuit designer."

"Yeah. There is that." Amakata sighed. "Nanase-kun, you can head onto class now. I'll be sure to take care of your sister."

Haru stared at her, but a tug from Makoto got him going.


	14. Unexpected - For Some

Finding Haruna at Haru's place was honestly surprising, yet in a way unsettling. The thought of someone else keeping an eye on Haru didn't make Makoto feel jealous, but instead, he felt agitated with worry. Haruna hadn't been around for so long he personally doubted she could handle Haru on her own, yet he also knew Rin would be far from pleased when he found out.

Thankfully Haruna had the thought of removing the nail polish from Haru's nails. The last thing they needed was their classmates catching onto yet another eccentric behavior of Haru's which would set him apart, but with Haruna around, there was no telling when _that_ kind of thing would happen again. He also didn't want Haru getting in trouble with one of the teachers for wearing the nail polish to class as Haru got into enough trouble on his own.

He walked with Haru and Haruna to class after leaving Haruna with their homeroom teacher, yet the other students were already gossiping than Haruna was coming, yet none of them knew what class she would be in. Someone mentioned wondering if they should sneak into the teacher's lounge and see if they could catch a glimpse of her. Haru at first ignored these comments, yet reacted when a couple of guys said something. Makoto quickly grabbed Haru's arm and shook his head.

That incident alone made him feel today alone would lead to a major headache he did not want.

They stepped into the classroom and discovered one of those headaches he did not want. Three guys were already in the classroom looking at one of these magazines teachers didn't want in the classroom simply because they provided an unnecessary distraction for young men and made some young women feel uncomfortable. Even without looking Majoto knew they were looking at pictures of Haruna, but the manner in which they drooled over them reminded Makoto why he preferred not remembering the names of these three.

"Do you think she'll be in our classroom?"

"Nah. As if we'd be so lucky." One of the guys looked up and glared at Haru for some reason only for the reason to become apparent with his next words. "She already has a boyfriend."

Haru remained oblivious to all three male classmates glaring at him in jealous as well as the misunderstanding which existed regarding Haru's relationship with Haruna. Makoto remembered all too well the misunderstanding was yet another reason he felt everything would end up being a major headache today. Haryu, still oblivious, walked within earshot of the guys when one made the mistake of saying, "Haru-chan is so cute."

Haru stopped walking and looked down at the magazine. The next thing that happened was honestly unexpected and yet within the range of expected behavior from Haru. Haru picked up the magazine and attempted tearing it apart which resulted in their three classmates staring at Haru as if he were an idiot. When the magazine didn't rip like Haru wanted he smashed the pages together in his hands and walked over to the trash cans and tossed the item in.

"Hey!" One of the guys stood up in anger. "That was mine Nanase!" Makoto started walking to his eat which was near Haru's. This allowed him to grab Haru's arm when the guy said, "Just because Haru-chan is your girlfriend doesn't mean you've got the right to hog her to yourself. It was her decision to become a pop idol."

Har froze at this statement before turning around. Makoto watched him quicken his step slightly, which for someone who took life in stride like Haru did this meant his friend was angry. He tugged Haru to his seat in the back and made him sit down. "No. Not worth it.

Haru let out one of those sighs which said he found the situation annoying before looking at the window. Instead of hanging his school bag on the hook attached to the desk like he normally did he instead placed the bag on the chair in front of him.

"You're saving that seat for Haruna?" Makoto spoke so that the other three couldn't hear him.

Haru didn't answer, but Makoto knew the students were free to sit where they wanted in class. Makoto turned his head towards the three guys and saw the guy standing looking as if he wanted to start something until Makoto gave him a glare. Other students started filtering into the classroom, but the whisperings, of course, involved Haru-chan and her theorized relationship with Haru.

One of the girls who normally sat in front of Haru was far from pleased at finding his bag in his seat, but a glare from Haru sent her away. This, of course, helped to fuel the gossip surrounding Haru-chan and Haru, but he now received a few glares and the word " _favoritism_ " floated around.

"Good morning class." Everyone turned and faced the front of the class as Amakata sensei came into the room. "Today..." She stopped speaking when her eyes caught sight of something in the trashcan. She reached down and set it on top of her desk. "Whose is this?"

"It's Nanaese's fault!" The guy to who the magazine belonged to stood up effectively outing himself.

"Really? I honestly doubt that, but suspect this is yours."

"Yes, mam."

"Detention after class today." Amakata sensei took a deep breath. "As I was saying, we have a new student today."

Haruna stepped into the classroom at this point and the whispers started up. Some of the students were excited. In fact, none of the males seemed displeased with seeing the famous pop idol was in fact in their class and some of the girls held hopes of making friends with her. A few girls were obviously jealous of Haruna, which was honestly not surprising and a few guys glared at Haru in jealousy.

Haruna took a deep breath before speaking. "Hello. My name is Nanase Haruna. I've transferred from Tokyo. It is nice to meet you."

"Wait? You're related to Nanase?" One of the other three asked.

"Haruka's my twin brother."

Makoto enjoyed seeing the color drain from their faces, yet he wondered if the pictures leaked to the press would be further misinterpreted, but he felt things might go seriously wrong. Thankfully, Amakata sensei cut the questions short and asked Haruna to take a seat by her brother. Makoto watched her return Haruna's bag. "Thank you for saving me a seat Haru."


	15. Fanfare

Haru didn't understand his classmates.

For starters, many of his classmates were excited about Haruna joined their class, yet he didn't understand why. He liked Haruna because she was his sister, but beyond that, he didn't understand what made her stand out from other girls. That said, in his mind, Rin's sister stood out yet his mind didn't understand why he thought that either. There were a lot of things he didn't understand that others did.

He didn't, for example, understand the looks some of his classmates gave Makoto when Haruna pulled out the lunches she prepared for the two of them. She simply turned and again asked Makoto to thank his mother for the items in the fridge as she utilized some in the lunches, yet offered to make him one as well the next day. The one thing Haru understood about the situation was that the looks actually made Makoto uncomfortable for some reason.

Then, after class everyone wanted Haruna to join their clubs. She seemed bothered by the requests and Haru stepped between her and the others but felt Haru pull him back. "She's simply overwhelmed by the requests Haru."

"Oh."

"And they're really not doing anything wrong."

"Oh."

Haruna listened carefully before saying, "I've already arranged with Amakata sensei to join the swim club."

"Wh..." Makoto paled when hearing the news.

"You don't want to join any of the clubs related to music?"

"Wait! We don't have a competitive girls' team, but you were never interested in that in the first place."

"Haru finds the water relaxing and I'm trying to lessen my stress load. Plus, it lets me hang out with my brother more."

Makoto let out a sigh. "Yeah, but..."

"I promise I won't get in the way."

"That's not what I was thinking." Makoto rubbed the back of his head. "I guess we can get headed over there."

Haru scooped up his bag but walked at a quicker pace. Haruna joining the club seemed like a good thing. He felt Makoto tug at his sleeve. "Hold on. Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Haru's eyes widened, but he stopped while Haruna walked ahead a few steps only for a few others asking if she would join their club and ask for her autograph. "Haru, I don't think Gou will be happy seeing Haruna there."

"Haruna said she wouldn't get in the way. I believe her."

"I believe her, though I do suspect..." Makoto took a deep breath. "That's not what I'm concerned about. It is more of Kou-chan has a bit of misunderstanding about you and Haruna."

"We're siblings. What is there to misunderstand?" Haru watched Makoto close his eyes and start walking again. "Makoto..."

"I'll explain if I need to if you find out the misunderstanding."

"Okay." Haru, of course, trusted Makoto to keep his word. They arrived at the swimming pool and found Rei and Nagisa already warming up while Gou stood staring at Haruna. Haru tilted his head. His mind interpreted the look as a look of horror, yet he didn't understand why anybody would want to be afraid of Haruna. A lightbulb went off and he turned to Makoto. "Did Kou steal Haruna's desert?"

"What?" Makoto stared at him in confusion.

"Kou looks scared of Haruna."

"What?" Makoto shook his head as Haruna headed towards the bench at the outdoor shelter.

Haru whispered as if what he was saying some kind of secret. "Haruna's only scary if you take her desert. I should know."

"Or use up all of her bubble bath in the swimming pool."

"Oh yeah." Haru's eyes widened.

"Or wash her whites with red resulting in them turning pink."

"I was trying to help."

"I know you were." Makoto sighed. "Kou's not afraid of her. It's..." His mouth twisted into a frown. "Complicated."

"Oh." Haru glanced up. "Why are we being watched?"

'Uh..." Makoto turned his head. "I think their Haru-chan fans?"

"Why?"

Makoto's eyes blinked. "Oh. Not you."

"Good."

"Haru-chan as in Haruna."

"Why?"

"Haru, you do understand your sister is a famous pop idol, right?"

"So?"

Makoto let out a deep breath. "Never mind."

Haru shrugged his shoulders and started doing a few exercises when some of the girls decided to make annoying sounds. He glanced over and moved so Makoto was between him and the girls and heard sounds of dismay. For some reason, Haruna found what happened amusing, but Gou...

Gou stood frozen at one end of the pool. She was definitely not her usual exuberant self and he found himself staring at her while she stared at Haruna. He was now _very_ confused. Makoto said, "Don't ask me. I don't understand girls much better than you do."

"Oh." Haru returned to trying to warm up before getting into the pool when Nagisa and Rei came over.

"What is she doing here?" Rei seemed in a panic, but Nagisa seemed excited for some strange reason.

"It's a rather long story."

"How is it a long story?" Haru was yet again confused.

"Never..."

A sudden flash made Haru step backward into Makoto, but his entire body froze up. The people Haruna called paparazzi – people with cameras who got into people's personal space to make money off other people's discomfort – showed up. Amakata sensei started shouting yet Haru couldn't hear the words. Instead, he found himself starting to panic as another picture was snapped.

He did register certain things such as Haruna's bodyguards showing up despite not being visible until that point. He also heard Haruna's soft voice talking to him trying to calm him as well as Makoto's voice trying to do the same. He almost felt as if he were drowning, yet the memory of almost doing so rushed back. Water never made him feel that way, but people did.

It was then that he heard Gou let out a sound indicating someone startled her and glanced up in time to see someone bump into her where she stood next to the pool. The action of bumping into her knocked her into the water, but he remembered Gou, despite being the swim manager, that she couldn't swim. He heard the splash indicating she'd hit the water but quickly dove in.


	16. Worst Nightmare

She felt like an idiot.

The latest gossip going around, of course, involved Haru dating the pop idol known as Haru-chan, but she found herself incapable of avoiding said gossip. Hearing said gossip emotionally hurt, yet she didn't say anything regarding how she felt. She couldn't openly admit how she felt when she couldn't actually admit how she felt to herself.

She didn't think things could get any worse.

"I can't believe it!" The Muranaka girl seemed easily agitated by anything which she felt threated her perceived social status in the school, yet she seemed agitated the latest gossip involved the pop idol instead of her. "Why the hell would she transfer to my school! That bitch!"

"Don't use that language at school," Isamu sighed.

"I'll use whatever language I want. I absolutely hate that bitch."

" _It can't be._ " Of late there was one person the Muranaka girl referred to as a bitch, yet the manner in which Muranaka acted made Gou feel horrible for thinking of the pop idol in such a negative manner but wondered if Muranaka's attitude towards her rival had any kind of effect on how Gou thought of the Haru-chan, or perhaps she thought all pop idols were the way Muranaka was because of the way the girl acted.

"It's probably just a rumor that pop idol is transferring here. I mean, why would she..."

"She's dating Nanase senpai, remember?" Muranaka snapped. "He can't be that great of a guy if she's dating her."

Gou's head snapped up and she opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She wanted to defend Haru, yet the thought of his girlfriend being here agitated her. There was no confirmation regarding the rumor as true until lunch time when a few of her classmates snuck away and peeked into the classrooms and came back super excited because Haru-chan apparently made lunch for Haru.

After school she found herself muttering under her breath. "She won't be there. She won't be. She won't be."

"Hey. Did you know that Haru-chan transferred into our school?" Nagisa blurted out upon seeing her.

Rei let out a sigh. "Guess what he's been super excited about all day long."

"A certain pop idol transferring to our school?" Gou mentally cursed her luck, but she wondered if things could possibly get worse.

Things of course did; Haruna showed up with Haru.

She hated the fact Haru-chan was there, but she found herself unable to say anything regarding the matter despite wanting to say Haruna was, in fact, a distraction for the team training. Gou paced for a bit before stopping at the edge of the pool with her stopwatch while watching a few gathers around in order that they might gape at Haruna. The guys obviously wanted to ogle at Haruna, but the girls were likely fans of her music.

This became super apparent when they swooning over Haru's figure, something Gou was herself guilty of. She somehow managed to speak out loud. "I don't like Haruka senpai because of his figure. He's a person, after all."

She wrapped her arms around her and took a deep breath while getting up the courage to approach Haru-chan and ask her to leave which in turn would take the distractions away. She wasn't expecting the paparazzi to show up, particularly since she knew they weren't allowed on campus, but the lengths some would go were flooring. Amakata sensei attempted telling them to go away, but that they weren't to be on campus while Haru simply stared at the person with the camera nearest him.

Gou didn't notice the one nearby her until she turned her head slightly because of the sound of the camera going off. That particular paparazzi was more sneaky about getting into the pool area, but he wasn't in fact cautious enough as he bumped into her. She felt herself losing her balance and falling towards the water, but panic filled her mind.

She hit the water which in turn soaked her clothing. She felt herself sink, but closed her eyes tightly while holding onto the breath of air. She didn't dare open her eyes and see the water around her, but eventually, her breath started giving out. She felt the bubbles of air escape her lungs but quickly sucked in water right before someone grabbed her around her waist and pulled her towards the surface.

Whoever grabbed her lifted her slightly from the water while another person pulled her out, but Gou's eyes still didn't open up as she started coughing the water out of her lungs while her back was against the hard surface of the poolside. She heard the person who rescued her get out of the pool but heard the water around her splash as they knelt down beside her.

The light filtering through her eyelids disappeared when they leaned over her, but she felt their breath on her face. She heard Makoto's voice. "Haru, I don't think..."

Gou's eyes snapped open and saw Haru's blue eyes looking right into her own as he leaned over her, but Gou found herself sucking in a breath again. Her body refused to let go of the breath of air and instead she instinctively attempted sitting up resulting in her forehead colliding with Haru's. He flopped backward and said, "Owe."

She sat up and moved a bit away from him. She touched her forehead lightly while Haru touched his and frowned. Gou rested her bottom lip against her teeth while letting out the breath and taking one in and holding it again. Haru noticed and reached out to poke her in the cheek. "Are you alright Kou? Are you breathing?

She let the breath out and started breathing again, She saw Makoto nearby with an exasperated look, but something told her he was the other person to pull her from the pool. A female voice spoke up. "Seriously Haru? Of course, she's not alright."

Gou saw a towel held out for her and she took the towel before realizing the person giving her the towel was in fact Haru-chan. She could hear their teacher and the bodyguards asking for everyone to disperse while Makoto said something about calling her brother. She stifled back a few sobs.

Haru, of course, had to say, "Kou? Are you upset? Rin will kill us if you're upset."

Gou couldn't hold back the tears and wrapped the towel around her shoulders.

"Haru. Seriously. Sometimes you're so dense." The person speaking was, in fact, Haru-chan again. "Hey. You look like you could use some cheering up. Do you know what cheers me up? Desert."

Gou watched Haru's eyes widened and he spoke in a low tone. "Don't steal Haruna's deserts. She's scary."

This resulted in Haruna – as Haru called her – pushing him into the pool in annoyance. She normally would have found the situation amusing, but didn't.


	17. Queen Bee

She found the desert in front of her unappetizing.

Instead, Gou stared at the desert Haruna bought for her, yet in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but think Haruna was attempting to buy her rather than attempting to cheer her up. Gou's hair was still slightly damp from her near drowning, yet she knew the entire school would be gossiping about the incident the next few days, but other students seeing her leave with Haruna didn't help.

Haru seemed agitated he wasn't invited in going on, yet Haruna assured him that her bodyguards would, in fact, be with her and that he should, in fact, go on home. Gou heard of high school students having live in girlfriends yet wondered how the school wasn't objecting. Worse, Amakata sensei overheard Haruna when she said this yet acted as if said situation wasn't happening.

Gou now found herself in Haruna's favorite café in sweats borrowed from the school she changed into staring at the desert Haruna purchased for her while her hands rested on her legs. She found the experience unsettling but didn't like the attention _being_ with a local celebrity like Haruna brought. Despite the sunglasses, she was quickly identified and Gou saw the customers around them and those passing outside stopping to gossip.

In fact, Haruna's presence seemed to draw in more customer for the business just so they could gawk at her, yet Gou felt quite conscious about sitting there in the borrowed sweats. The only positive to the situation was the fact the sweats were, in fact, clean, but she wasn't sure what coming to Haruna's favorite hometown spot achieved. Why Haruna even wanted to share that she didn't know, yet Gou couldn't help but feel as if Haruna was attempting to manipulate her.

"So, are you going to eat?" Haruna let out a deep breath. Gou glanced up and saw Haruna sitting there having taken a few bites of her own desert, but her arms were crossed. The look on her face indicated she was annoyed. "Okay. I'm going to jump to the point there." Haruna looked up so Gou was forced to look into her blue eyes. "I was trying to figure out what Haru sees in you, but you're awful quiet. There's nothing interesting about you at all."

Gou felt her jaw drop and her throat tightened. She swallowed in an attempt to push back the negative feeling and sat up straight. Her hands lifted up from her lap and gripped the table tightly, yet she wasn't sure how to respond to Haruna's comment. In the back of her mind, she worried Haruna picked up on the fact she was interested in Haru, yet in that very moment she found to herself she actually liked Haru. This made her eyes glance down at the table.

"Of course..." Haruna let out a deep breath. "It was stupid to think you'd be interested in him. What girl would be?"

Haru's head darted up. "What?"

"You heard me. Haru's weird."

Gou stood up quickly slamming her hands down. "You! You're as awful as they say!"

"Excuse me?" Haruna let her eyes widen slightly, yet kept her ladylike demeanor.

"You're only dating Haru to use him, aren't you?"

"Hold on."

Gou wasn't going to listen and simply grabbed her school bag. She felt more like her usual self. "No. There's plenty of reason why someone would like Haru and not just because he's super handsome. If you don't know that, well..."

She turned and walked out of the café, yet she still felt like crying. She was glad Haruna didn't follow after her and yet she wasn't sure what to do. She headed towards the train so she could ride to her part of town, but when she sat down her phone went off. She reached in and answered. "Hello?"

" _Gou?_ "

"Rin?"

" _Why the hell didn't you call me after you almost drowned in your school pool? You didn't think I'd want to know?_ "

"I..."

" _I had to find out because Makoto called. He tried getting ahold of me on my cellphone, but when he couldn't do that he contacted my school._ "

"I'm fine."

" _Thanks to Haru you are. And what's this about going to a café with Haruna? She's..._ "

"I know. I hate her."

" _Because you think she and Haru are dating?_ " Rin let out a deep breath on the other side. " _Gou..._ "

"They are! She's also using Haru. She said she didn't see why any girl would be interested in him, but Haru is very sensitive towards others even though he is eccentric and he's enjoyable to be around. She also said there's no way Haru would be interested in me." Gou felt her voice strain slightly. "I get that I'm nowhere near her league, but..."

" _Gou..._ "Rin's voice strained. " _Please tell me..._ "

"I like Haru, Rin. I like him a lot." Gou's mouth twisted slightly.

" _Gou, I think there's a misunderstanding..._ "

"No. I completely understand my feelings. Don't tell me I don't."

" _That's not..._ "

"Don't tell me it is true."

" _We'll talk during the meet up between our two swim teams tomorrow._ "

"What?" Gou's throat tightened. "I didn't plan any meetup."

" _I know you didn't. Our captain arranged it because he's the person who took the call, but he wants to see if you're okay. Don't confront either Haru or Haruna until I talk to you tomorrow._ "

"I already confronted her and told her what I thought."

" _You did what?"_ Rin's voice strained. " _Gou, I don't like her, but..._ "

"I've got to do something. I don't want Haru to get hurt."

" _Do not talk to him about this until after I talk to you tomorrow. Goodness knows I'm hoping she doesn't say anything to him tonight about what you did._ "

"You know that they're living together? Don't you care that..."

" _I didn't know she'd returned until I found out you'd almost drowned!_ " Rin yelled. " _Do not talk to anyone else about this until I talk to you tomorrow, got it?_ "

"Fine."

" _Promise me._ "

"I promise."

" _You know I'll be really ticked off if you if you don't keep your mouth shut._ "

"You don't have to be so mean." Gou's mouth twisted in frustration. His mood improved since reigniting his friendship with Haru, Nagisa, and Makoto, but this was far from being a good mood.

" _Then don't make me be the mean older brother Gou._ "

"Fine."


	18. Truth Outs

Nanase Haruna was a major headache that Rin did not want, but so was his sister crushing on one of his childhood friends.

In his mind, the whole headache with Nanase Haruna was done for and should have been done for, yet he found out otherwise when the call regarding his sister ending up in the school pool came through. Getting the news from Makoto regarding his sister was less than an ideal situation, but he found himself wishing the team captain and coach hadn't taken the message due to him being in the pool when the message came in.

Yet, in the long run, the fact a meet up ended up arranged turned out to be a blessing in disguise as this would allow him to clear up things with Gou regarding Haru and Haruna's relationship.

Despite this, learning his sister almost drowned was still not nice information to learn second hand. Learning Haru saved her from the pool wasn't surprising given Haru's infinity with the pool, yet this felt strange due to how disconnected Haru usually was with people. The strangeness grew when Gou openly admitted she had a crush on Haru, yet she honestly didn't know how to deal with the situation.

Shock was the initial response.

Haru was, in fact, Haru, and one of the last guys Rin expected anybody to be into. It wasn't that Haru's personality was bland, but more of the fact his eccentricities were something very few would, in fact, want to put up with. Haru also struggled with social connotations and would likely make a poor boyfriend in regard to catching onto the cues of what the person he was dating wanted.

On the other hand, Haru was someone he knew who wouldn't instigate anything with his sister so he couldn't be against the two dating. The idea of Haru possibly become family though felt strange as did the possibility of the two having kids, yet Rin was, in fact, getting ahead of himself. In his mind, Gou's crush was simply a crush and would die off once they dated for a bit, but Haru was the one more likely to get hurt once her interest waned.

Of course, there was the fact Haruna was up to her usual manipulations and attempting to do something. The reasons for taking Gou out didn't seem evident, yet he also found himself wondering what she'd said to Gou, but wondered if having _her_ as an addition to the family was worth his sister being happy if Haruna meant unhappiness for his sister.

He arrived with the rest of the swim team from his school expecting to race against Haru, yet knowing full well he needed to set his sister straight. The captain, of course, noticed he was yet again not himself. "The fact your off today is quite understandable, given the fact Gou nearly drowned yesterday."

"Is that why you set up this meet or is it because you learned that Nanase Haruna is attending this school and will likely be at said meet watching her brother swim."

"Well, there is that..."

"Uh-huh."

The fact Nanase Haruna was going to Haru's school also bothered Rin. She could have attended the school a long time ago, but never did. The answer, he felt, lay with the fact she found Haru an embarrassment. After all, Haru did things such as swimming down to his swimwear and diving into any body of water he saw, yet his other eccentric behavior was off-putting.

Why Gou had a crush on him..."

"Rin-chan!"

Rin let out a sigh as Nagisa hurried over with his usual enthusiasm, but held out his hand so that his childhood friend couldn't hug him. "Where's Gou?"

"Oh. She's over at the shelter. I think she's still a bit shaken up about yesterday." Nagisa glanced over to the shelter where Makoto was sitting with Gou.

Rin took a deep breath before turning to his captain. "I'm going to talk to her privately for a bit."

"Alright."

He walked over and looked at his sister who indeed seemed frazzled and unlike her usual self. "Gou."

"Oh." Her head darted up.

"You didn't say anything did you?"

"Anything about what?" Makoto let his head lift up upon hearing Rin's voice.

"That..." Rin let out a deep breath. "You were right."

"You mean about Gou..."

"Rin!" Gou's eyes widened. She glanced away. "Not that it matters." She paused before turning and looking at him again. "Actually, it does because she's using him."

Makoto let out a groan. "Rin, what did you tell her?"

"About Haruna?"

"I've told you that what you think is going on isn't."

"Doesn't change the fact Haruna is a manipulative..."

"Language."

"Okay, okay." Rin looked at his sister. "Gou, about Haru and Haruna..."

"She's not dating him because she likes him. She..."

"They're not dating." Makoto piped up.

"I'm quite sure they are." Gou looked at Makoto if he were crazy.

Makoto looked at Rin. "Seriously. You've not told her yet?"

"Aren't you at all bothered by the fact they're living together Makoto senpai?"

"Why? They're siblings."

Rin watched his sister's eyes widen in surprise as her mouth opened wide. He watched a blush spread across her face. "Wait..."

"Wonderful..." Rin rolled his eyes. "What now?"

"She..." Gou swallowed. "She said..." Her eyes drifted towards the ground. "I thought she was saying there was no way Haru could be interested in me because I thought she saw me as a threat, but then she said something about girls not being interested in Haru because he was weird and that she was stupid for thinking I might be."

Rin found himself confused. "Say what?"

Makoto tilted his head. "I'm not sure." He looked up. "Wait? Where are Haru and Haruna? They aren't here."

"Weren't they with you?"

"Haruna said something about avoiding the pool until after she knew they wouldn't be followed by other students, but Haru didn't want to come without her. They should have been here by now, particularly since Haru is excited about the meetup. Actually, Haruna was excited about getting to see Haru compete." Makoto headed over to his bag for his phone. "I'll see if I can't find them."


	19. Princess

Haru liked when things returned to normal quickly yet having Haruna home seemed like a normal thing. As such he did not understand why things did in fact change when Haruna came back home. Haruna didn't let him go with her and Gou making him feel left out, yet swimming wasn't an option as Makoto said something about avoiding people and the attention which came with it.

"I get why you like Gou."

"She's nice."

"Yes, she definitely is." Haruna frowned. "Haru, you aren't making mackerel are you?"

"Yes." Haru heard a sigh escape from his sister's lips.

"You need more than just mackerel."

"I only need mackerel."

"That's not..." Haruna didn't push the matter but did make him eat something other than just mackerel.

The attention focused on him and Haruna yesterday still existed when they arrived home, yet the attention felt more intense. During lunch, Haruna and Makoto discussed how they should handle the situation and somehow Haruna came up with the idea she would, in fact, wait until the hallways cleared up before heading to the pool.

As such Haru found himself impatient towards the end of the day while he waited to go. "You could go without me."

"No, Haruna, no."

Haruna shook her head. "Don't you want to see Gou?"

"Yes." Haru sat looking forward without his head moving. "I want to see Rin, Makoto..."

"Okay. I get it. Soon."

Eventually, the hallways cleared up and Haruna got up. "We can go now."

Haru's eyes widened in excitement and his mouth opened, but no words came out. He stood up and headed towards the door. He saw off to the side a person standing just outside the door, but what he last recollected was a cloth covering his mouth. His head hurt, but his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell unconscious despite the fact he really wanted to go swimming.

When he came to he found himself tied to a chair in a place he didn't recognize. He glanced around at the dusty surroundings and unclean windows, but he saw someone was behind him in another chair. "Hello."

"Shut up." The man's voice was gruff. "You're her boyfriend, aren't you?"

"I'm not dating anybody." Haru didn't understand why the person was asking such questions. A groan from behind told him the other person was coming to, but he recognized their voice. "Haruna."

"Haru. You're too loud."

A man wearing a mask came over and grabbed Haru's dark locks of hair. "You heard her, didn't you? Your girlfriend that is?"

Haru frowned. "Haruna isn't my girlfriend."

"Of course, she's not."

"She's my sister."

Haru watched the man lift an eyebrow up underneath the mask. The person let out a laugh. "Oh my. Isn't that quite unexpected, isn't it?" The man took a deep breath. "Of course, that explains the similar eye color, doesn't it?"

"What are you doing?"

The man's eyes widened. "Doing? Do you not understand that I have kidnapped you and your sister?"

"Why?"

"Because the client paid me to."

"Why?"

"How should I know why? I don't ask that kind of thing when I'm getting paid." The man let out a chuckle. "You honestly wouldn't be in this mess if your sister hadn't escaped. My partner and I were not happy about that at all."

"I didn't like the fact you kidnapped Haruna."

"Wow. You are super dense. No wonder your sister was keeping you hidden from the media."

"That's not true." Haruna piped up.

"What? You don't think of him as an embarrassment, Haru- _chan_?" The man asked in a mocking manner.

Haru opened his mouth, yet he knew full well he was an embarrassment and frustration. He'd seen the embarrassed look on her face in the past. His mouth twisted into a frown, but he looked down at his feet despite the fact he couldn't see them. Haruna spoke up behind him. "Haru is not an embarrassment."

"Say that out loud all you want princess, but it's obvious your brother thinks otherwise." The man forced Haru to look up at him. "You know that you're weird, don't you? That you're not normal?" Haru swallowed. "I thought so."

"Haru..."

"I know." Haru found himself still looking the man in the eye. "I know I do things which embarrass you. I know I disconnect with people and that I frustrate you. I know all of that."

"Haru, it's not your fault you are the way you are."

"Hear that?" The man laughed. "She just admitted it? If it's not your fault though there is no way your issues will be fixed either."

"That..." Haru let his chin fall as the man let go of his chin.

"Haru, I wouldn't change you for the world."

"Yes, you would."

"No, I wouldn't."

"Look, lie to him all you want princess, but there is no way he is going to believe anything you say. You kept him well hidden, this brother of yours. That is until recently when someone leaked information regarding him. Of course, right now they think he's your twin sister. What are they going to think when they find out he's your brother, but he's..." The man stopped speaking. "Well, he's got issues."

"That won't happen."

Haru let his eyes drift to the ground, but the man laughed. "Of course that won't happen, because your publicist will squash it to protect you. Pop idols are such bitches, aren't they? Protecting themselves over everyone else. Nobody is going to save you meaning we can actually wait..."

A loud sound was heard as the police broke down the door and came rushing in. The man lifted his arms, yet seemed surprised he was found.


	20. Freedom

Makoto found himself sitting in the police station waiting for answers regarding Haru and Haruna. Rin sat next to him with his arms crossed while looking up at the ceiling in irritation. Everyone knew something was wrong when Makoto discovered Haru's phone wasn't anywhere near the school, yet they decided the best thing they could do was let the police know something was wrong.

The meet up with Rin's school ended up canceled, yet both teams were now on edge. Gou was also near tears which didn't help Rin's mood at all. Until now Makoto never thought of the kind of impact Haruna's celebrity status would have on Haru, though he got a small taste of said impact yesterday after school. What worried him most was knowing the two were safe.

"It's them."

Makoto glanced up and saw Haruna and Haru being led in by the police officers, but felt a sigh of relief escape his lips. The police officers didn't bring them into the room but led them off to a corner where there was more privacy from the rest of the group. He glanced at Rin who was now looking up after his captain noted they were brought in. "I'm going to go over there."

"The police may not be happy with that."

"I need to see how they're doing." Makoto stood up and walked over. "Haru? Haruna?" Haruna looked up, yet Haru didn't move. Makoto's mouth opened. "Haru, what's wrong?"

"Haruna hates me."

"I do not."

Makoto let one of his hands reach up so he could rub his ear lobe with his fingers. "What's going on? Are you upset because you couldn't protect Haruna, because..." A look from Haruna said that wasn't the answer, but whatever was upsetting Haru was upsetting her. "Haruna doesn't hate you Haru."

"I'm an embarrassment. That's why..." Haru's mouth clamped shut and his hands clenched his pants legs. "I want to go home. I don't like this."

"Haru. Can you look at me?"

Haru shook his head in response. Haruna looked up at Makoto for help. "Just say what you want to say."

Haruna took a deep breath. "What those guys said wasn't true."

"Yes, it is."

"Haruna, what did the guys who kidnapped you say?"

He watched Haruna's mouth twist, but then saw her look away. "They brought up the fact I've kept Haru out of the media."

"It's because I'm an embarrassment."

"That's not..." Haruna stopped and closed her eyes. "There is some truth to that, but what they said about protecting myself wasn't true."

"But I do embarrass you."

"Haruna, there is no getting around this." Makoto shoved his hands into his pants pocket. "Haru may not be able to control his behavior, but he is aware of the fact his behavior isn't considered normal. He's also aware of the way people react even though he doesn't act like it. He's aware of a lot more than people give him credit for."

Makoto watched a few tears well in Haruna's eyes. "Haru, how do you feel about the way people react to what you do?"

"I don't know." Haru's lip trembled. "I know I don't like being an embarrassment to Haruna. I don't like not being liked."

"I don't hate you."

"Yes, you do. Just like everyone else who doesn't like the weird things I do."

"Haruna, maybe Haru..."

"Don't. Haru, I really need you to look at me. I need you to look me in the eye so you know I'm telling you the truth."

Makoto watched Haru look up hesitantly. "What does Haruna want to say?"

"It is true I've kept you out of the media. It's true I still want to keep you out of the spotlight. It's true I can't stand the way people look at you, but that has nothing to do with me being embarrassed about being related to you." A tear fell from Haruna's eye. Haru reached up as if to wipe it away, but stopped. Haruna grabbed his hand gently. "It's not me I'm trying to protect Haru. It's you."

"I don't understand."

Makoto did, but before he could say anything Haruna wiped the tear away and said. "I'm quitting."

"Why?"

Haruna reached out and grabbed Haru's face gently. "Because you got hurt."

"I'm not hurt." Haru lifted his hands up to look at where his hands were tied. "No, they don't hurt."

Haruna looked at Makoto for help explaining things to Haru. Makoto shook his head. "I don't know how."

"Haru, doesn't it upset you that people treat you differently?"

"No. I'm used to it."

Makoto took a deep breath. "But Haruna is not. She doesn't like it when other people treat you badly."

He watched Haru look his sister in the eye and then saw Haru do something unexpected. He pulled Haruna into a hug which in turn made Haruna burst into tears. Makoto watched Haru look at him in panic. "Wait? Didn't I do the right thing? Is what I did socially unacceptable? Did..."

"You didn't mess up Haru." Makoto felt a smile spread across his face. He glanced over at the others who accompanied him to the police station to wait for news and held up his thumb indicating things would be okay. He honestly felt things would be okay as Haruna's kidnappers were captured. The process towards everything being alright might be a difficult journey, but something told him it would happen.

The look on Rin's face said things were getting worse which in turn made Makoto laugh at his childhood's friends pessimism towards the situation.


End file.
